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On Monday, the Australian dollar against the US dollar fell by as much as 0.5% to 0.6842 US dollars, declining for the seventh consecutive trading day and reaching its lowest level since January 23. The New Zealand dollar against the US dollar fell by as much as 0.42% to 0.5722 US dollars, declining for the fifth consecutive trading day and hitting its lowest level since January 15. Investors are flocking to the US dollar as a safe haven due to the protracted conflict in the Middle East leading to soaring energy costs, overshadowing the outlook for global economic growth.Commonwealth Bank of Australia economists have stated that the market's reassessment of the Reserve Bank of Australia's rate hike boost for the Australian dollar has peaked. When the market lowers its global economic outlook, the Australian dollar often drops, usually sharply. Last week, the Australian dollar closed down 2.1%, marking its largest weekly decline since April. With the technical support level of 0.6897 US dollars breached, the Australian dollar risks falling back to 0.6700 US dollars.Pakistan has stated it is ready to host "substantive talks" in the coming days aimed at ending the Iran conflict. Yemen's Houthi forces launched their first attack on Israel since the outbreak of the conflict, and Brent crude May futures rose by more than 3% at one point in early Monday trading to 116.75 US dollars. HSBC analysts expect the Australian economy to contract in the second quarter after two rate hikes this year, as rising fuel prices will erode consumer spending.The Australian Prime Minister announced that petrol and diesel taxes will be halved for three months to alleviate surging energy costs. Victoria and Tasmania have announced free public transport to encourage people to reduce driving. The Reserve Bank of Australia will release the minutes of its March policy meeting on Tuesday, and the market will pay close attention to how members balance inflation and growth risks.

Golden Ten Data reported on March 30 that analysts from Fitch's subsidiary BMI indicated that the Monetary Authority of Singapore's policy response could keep both overall and core inflation rates at an average of around 1.8% in 2026. The analysts expect that, assuming the US-Iran conflict is short-lived, the Monetary Authority of Singapore will maintain current policy settings in 2026. However, they believe if the conflict continues beyond March, the risk of policy tightening by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in April (UTC+8) will increase. If the Monetary Authority of Singapore tightens policy, the Singapore dollar exchange rate may be stronger than BMI's current forecast of 1 US dollar to 1.28 Singapore dollars by the end of 2026.

Golden Ten Data reported on March 30 that key indicators measuring offshore RMB liquidity—the offshore RMB Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate (Hibor)—showed that most major term interest rates declined on Monday. The one-year Hibor fell slightly to 1.85455%, hitting a new low since March 17. The one-week Hibor edged down to 1.55500%, the two-week Hibor dropped to 1.57303%, while the overnight Hibor rose by 15 basis points to 1.35697%. Click the link to view historical data…