|

AUD/USD Forecast: Aussie remains under pressure, not much support until 0.6535

AUD/USD Current Price: 0.6584

  • AUD/USD receives two punches, one from the RBA and the other from Fed’s Powell. 
  • RBA raises rates again, says inflation has likely peaked; Governor Lowe to speak on Wednesday. 
  • US Dollar jumps as market participants consider the possibility of a 50 bps hike from the Fed at the next meeting. 
  • Lowe’s speech and US ADP Employment report are likely to keep volatility elevated. 

The AUD/USD collapsed on Tuesday, on both a weaker Aussie and a stronger US Dollar across the board. The first punch came from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meeting, which send the pair below the critical 0.6700 level and after Powell’s testimony, it dropped below 0.6600. AUD/USD bottomed at 0.6582, the lowest level in almost four months. AUD/NZD tumbled to 1.0740, the weakest since mid-January. 

The RBA hiked interest rates for the 10th consecutive time by 25 basis points to 3.6%, as expected. The message was slightly dovish, with the central bank explaining that when and how much further rates can go, will be decided on incoming data. After the meeting, markets priced in a lower terminal rate, closer to 4%. 

More volatility ahead is warranted and could be in either direction. On Wednesday, RBA Governor Philip Lowe will deliver a speech at the Financial Review Business Summit, followed by a Q&A session. Traders will watch closely the event for more clarity about the RBA guidance and the potential pause at next month’s meeting. 

Ahead of the Asian session, USD’s momentum is strong, trading at weekly highs across the board supported by a hawkish Powell. In a hearing before the US Senate, he spoke about the possibility of largest interest rate hikes amid the latest round of US economic data. He warned that inflationary pressures are higher than anticipated. On Wednesday, he will testify again, but no more surprises are expected. The focus will be on the ADP employment report. On Friday will be the turn of Nonfarm payrolls. 

AUD/USD short-term technical outlook

Technical factors contributed to the bearish acceleration in AUD/USD after breaking the critical area of 0.6700. The pair has not found a bottom and despite short-term indicators pointing at oversold levels, no signs of stabilization are seen. The pair is trading below 0.6600 and the next relevant support on the daily chart is seen at the 0.6530/40 area. 

A rebound toward 0.6630 could be seen by traders as an opportunity to sell AUD/USD. However, a firm return above  0.6630 should favor some consolidation before a new leg lower. As long as the pair remains under 0.6780, the outlook is bearish. 

Support levels: 0.6575 0.6530 0.6500

Resistance levels: 0.6620 0.6650 0.6690

View Live Chart for the AUD/USD 
 

Author

Matías Salord

Matías started in financial markets in 2008, after graduating in Economics. He was trained in chart analysis and then became an educator. He also studied Journalism. He started writing analyses for specialized websites before joining FXStreet.

More from Matías Salord
Share:

Editor's Picks

GBP/USD remains offered below 1.3600

GBP/USD resumes its decline, reversing Tuesday’s bullish attempt and breaking below 1.3600 the figure on Wednesday. Cable’s marked pullback follows a firm advance in the Greenback as investors continue to assess latest US data as well as the geopolitical landscape.

EUR/USD remains on the back foot around 1.1650

EUR/USD comes under renewed selling interest, slipping back to the mid-1.1600s ahead of the opening bell in Asia. Spot loses momentum on the back of solid gains in the US Dollar in a context of unabated geopolitical tensions and steady caution ahead of key US data releases and Chair Warsh’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday. Looking ahead, the ECB will publish its Accounts on Thursday.

Gold keeps sight of $4,700 ahead of Fed Warsh’s speech
Gold is making another run to retest 15-week highs of $4,697 early Thursday. Gold traders are taking advantage of an upbeat mood-led US Dollar (USD) retreat, looking past hot US core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index data for July. Renewed USD weakness offers the much-needed boost to Gold, following Wednesday’s pullback from near the $4,675 neighbourhood.
Bitcoin faces recovery test above $80K as ETF demand strengthens
Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent rally has sharply reduced leverage across the market while attracting strong institutional demand, according to Glassnode. In a report on Wednesday, the firm stated that August 19 marked the largest single-day short liquidations recorded by Glassnode’s feed since 2019, with short positions accounting for 85% of all liquidations.
60 days to pay: Nvidia is financing its own demand
The Jensen Huang-helmed Nvidia (NVDA) delivered its second-quarter earnings print with its stock roughly 11% beneath the peak it set in May and around 8% beneath where it traded in mid-August, on the day it told the market it would stand behind up to $105 billion of a single customer's rent. Then it beat everything. Revenue of $96.221 billion against a consensus near $92 billion.
Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole dilemma: Say too much, too little, or just enough

Kevin Warsh is preparing to deliver his first Jackson Hole speech as Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair on Friday, and expectations extend well beyond whether interest rates will be raised or left unchanged in September.