Aussie dollar weaker amid concerns of the US-China trade relationship

AUD - Australian Dollar

The Australian dollar is slightly weaker this morning when valued against the greenback. The Aussie fell to a low of 0.6800 in early trade yesterday following the poor performance of equities amid mounting concerns about developments in the US-China trade relationship. On the release front yesterday NAB’s Business Conditions Index stayed unchanged at 4 in November, beating the market expectation of 2, while the NAB’s Business Confidence Index came at 0, as expected. Also, the annual House Price Index came in at -3.7% in the third quarter following the second quarter's reading of -7.4%.

Looking ahead today and we will see the release the December Westpac Consumer Confidence Index, foreseen at -0.7% from 4.5% in November. From a technical perspective, the AUD/USD pair is currently trading at 0.6813. We continue to expect support to hold on moves approaching 0.6800 while now any upward push will likely meet resistance around 0.6830.

Key Movers

The Euro was a key mover overnight after a better-than-expected German economic sentiment survey boosted the common currency. German ZEW survey which beat expectations, as the country’s Economic Sentiment jumped to 10.7 in December, while for the whole Union was up to 11.2, both largely surpassing the market’s expectations. On the release front in the US overnight Q3 Non-farm Productivity declined by 0.2%, while Unit Labor Cost for the same period rose by 2.5%, both well below the market’s expectations.

From a technical perspective, the EUR/USD pair is currently trading at 1.1095. We continue to expect support to hold on moves approaching 1.1065 while now any upward push will likely meet resistance around 1.1120.

Expected Ranges

AUD/USD: 0.6700 - 0.6900 ▼

GBP/AUD: 1.9250 - 1.9450 ▲

AUD/NZD: 1.0300 - 1.0500 ▼

AUD/EUR: 0.6050 - 0.6250 ▼

AUD/CAD: 0.8900 - 0.9100 ▼