Australian dollar falls as Pilbara killer rises

David Llewellyn-Smith

Friday 20 February 2026

DXY is threatening to break higher again as Iran and oil heat up.

AUD can’t catch a bid with China closed and JPY falling.

Oil and gold are on the up as geopolitical risk rises.

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About the author

David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.