Australian dollar in tight range after positive data

The Aussie dollar is trading around US86.20 cents today virtually unchanged from yesterday as positive real estate and business data hit the market putting a floor under the local currency. The latest quarterly housing price Index which shows the changes in house prices in major capital cities came in at 1.5% right on consensus and showing that the property market is still powering along even though it is at an all-time high.

The NAB’s business conditions survey Index jumped from a number of 1 to 13 reaching its highest level since February 2008 and shows consumers and businesses are still not shy to spend money and that the Australian economy still has some life left in it.

Claiming that the jump in business confidence was out of the ordinary was an analyst  from RBS who noted that “The very strong rise in the business conditions index looks possibly even at odds with other indicators on the state of the Australian economy,” said RBS’s Gibbs. “That’s giving the Australian dollar some support.”

The market expects a quiet day today with the Aussie currency remaining range bound due to the lack of key data to hit the market. There may be some movement later in the day as Glen Wheeler, the governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand gives his latest monetary speech, which may create some volatility in the Kiwi currency and in turn filter on down to the Australian dollar as the two countries are closely connected.