Aussie tumbles to four-month low after soft GDP

The Australian dollar has taken a tumble on Wednesday. In the European session, AUD/USD is trading at 0.6416, down 1.1% on the day at the time of writing. Earlier, the Australian dollar dropped as low as 0.6407, its lowest level since August 5.

Australia’s GDP misses expectations

Australia’s GDP report was a disappointment, falling short of expectations. GDP rose 0.3% q/q in the third quarter, following three straight quarters of 0.2% growth. This missed the market estimate of 0.5%. Annually, GDP rose 0.8%, below the  Q2 gain of 1% and shy of the market estimate of 1.1%.

A key reason why GDP growth has been weak is soft household consumption. Consumers have been battered by high interest  rates and stubborn inflation, and private domestic demand was negligible in the second and third quarters.

The soft GDP report was a bust with the markets and sent the Australian dollar tumbling lower. The report is unlikely to cause any changes from the Reserve Bank of Australia, which has been in a prolonged “higher for longer” stance. The RBA has managed to bring headline inflation within the target of 2%-3%, but remains concerned about underlying inflation, which rose to 3.5% in October.

The RBA makes its next rate announcement on Dec. 10 and is widely expected to maintain the cash rate at 4.35%, where it has been for over a year. The markets aren’t expecting a rate cut before May 2025, although a surprise decline in inflation in the coming months could push the central bank to lower rates in Q1 2025.

AUD/USD technical

• AUD/USD has pushed below support at 0.6447. Below, there is support at 0.6382.

• 0.6563 and 0.6613 are the next resistance lines.