Dismal Aussie GDP release pushes AUD/USD below 0.73

• Australia September quarter GDP prints well below estimates, validating the argument that the RBA will keep rates unchanged through 2019.
• The AUD/USD has dropped more than 50 pips to levels below 0.73.

The Aussie dollar is being offered across the board in response to dismal Australia third quarter GDP data.

The AUD/USD pair is currently trading at 0.7307, having dropped more than 50 pips to a session low of 0.7295 a few minutes before press time.

The Australian economy grew by 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in a seasonally adjusted chain volume terms in the September quarter, missing the forecasted print of 0.6 percent by a big margin. Notably, the growth rate has cooled significantly from the previous quarter's print of 0.9 percent.

The annualized growth rate also dropped to 2.8 percent from the previous quarter's reading of 3.4 percent.

The details reveal that net exports contributed 0.3 percentage points to GDP growth driven by a decline in imports. Meanwhile, household consumption expenditure increased by 0.3% during the quarter, contributing 0.2 percentage points to GDP growth.

The sharp slowdown in the growth rate will likely reinforce expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would keep interest rates at record low of 1.5 percent in 2019 and for a better part of 2020.

As a result, the Aussie dollar could extend the decline, possibly toward the 100-day moving average (MA) line, currently located at 0.7239.

AUD/USD Technical Levels