AUD/USD analysis: key Chinese and Australian data in the way of a bullish run

Valeria Bednarik FXStreet

AUD/USD Current price: 0.7203

Australian inflation and Chinese trade figures to stand out in the Asian session.
AUD/USD bullish case will sustain as long as the price holds above 0.7155.

The AUD/USD pair surged Friday t 0.7234, its highest in almost a month, finishing the week with gains above the 0.7200 level. The Aussie rallied despite no actual reasons for such advance, as Chinese inflation figures, released earlier in the day, missed expectations, while equities worldwide had a mixed performance, with European and American ones ending the journey with modest losses. Furthermore, commodities fell in the last trading day of the week, while fears about China's economic slowdown returned following a report indicating that the country may downgrade this year's growth forecast from 6.5% to 6.0-6.5%. The macroeconomic calendar will be critical at the beginning of the week, as Australia will release January Consumer Inflation Expectations, previously at 4.0% and the TD Securities Inflation estimate for December, previously at 0.0%. Also, China will publish its December trade data, with the focus on imports and exports with Australia and the trade surplus with the US.

The pair advanced for an eighth consecutive day, extending its gains above the 61.8% retracement of the December/January decline at 0.7155, a line in the sand now, as bulls will retain control as long as the price remains above it. In the daily chart, the pair is now developing above its 20 and 100 DMA, both lacking directional strength, while the 200 DMA caps the upside around 0.7275. Technical indicators in the mentioned chart continue advancing within positive levels, maintaining the risk skewed to the upside. In the 4 hours chart, the pair offers a neutral-to-positive stance, as technical indicators lack directional strength but hold into positive ground, while the pair trades above all of its moving averages, with the 20 SMA heading firmly up above the larger ones.

Support levels: 0.7190 0.7155 0.7115

Resistance levels: 0.7250 0.7300 0.7335

View Live Chart for the AUD/USD

Author

Valeria Bednarik

FXStreet

Valeria Bednarik was born and lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her passion for math and numbers pushed her into studying economics in her younger years.

EUR/USD trims losses, flirts with the 1.1850 zone

EUR/USD is back on the back foot on Wednesday, slipping below the 1.1850 area as the US Dollar picks up some modest traction. The move comes as traders position ahead of a busy run of US data and the release of the FOMC Minutes. Adding to the pullback are reports that the ECB’s Lagarde may step down before completing her term.

GBP/USD flirts with daily highs near 1.3580

GBP/USD manages to set aside two consecutive daily declines and trades with slight gains in the 1.3580 zone on Wednesday. Cable’s uptick comes despite acceptable gains in the Greenback and easing UK inflation figures, which seem to have reinforced the case for a BoE rate cut in March.

Gold regains some shine, retargets $5,000 ahead of FOMC Minutes

Gold gathers fresh upside traction on Wednesday, leaving part of the weakness seen at the beginning of the week and refocusing its attention to the key $5,000 mark per troy ounce, all ahead of the release of the FOMC Minutes and despite the modest uptick in the US Dollar.

Pi Network rally defies market pressure ahead of its first anniversary

Pi Network is trading above $0.1900 at press time on Wednesday, extending the weekly gains by nearly 8% so far. The steady recovery is supported by a short-term pause in mainnet migration, which reduces pressure on the PI token supply for Centralized Exchanges. The technical outlook focuses on the $0.1919 resistance as bullish momentum increases.

Mixed UK inflation data no gamechanger for the Bank of England

Food inflation plunged in January, but service sector price pressure is proving stickier. We continue to expect Bank of England rate cuts in March and June. The latest UK inflation read is a mixed bag for the Bank of England, but we doubt it drastically changes the odds of a March rate cut.

Top 3 Price Prediction: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple face downside risk as bears regain control

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple remain under pressure on Wednesday, with the broader trend still sideways. BTC is edging below $68,000, nearing the lower consolidating boundary, while ETH and XRP also declined slightly, approaching their key supports.