Australian dollar reaches eight-week highs

OzForex Research OzForex Foreign Exchange

AUD - Australian Dollar

The Australian Dollar rallied on Wednesday afternoon following positive leads from the release of data in China. Opening at 0.7176 against the US Dollar, the Aussie initially saw an initial drop to 0.7152 as poor New Zealand inflation figures across the Tasman dragged the local currency with it.

Any downside movement was quickly erased as the release of several data releases in China caused the Australian Dollar to shoot up to eight-week highs and a retest of the US 72 cent handle. China’s economy grew at 6.4% in the first quarter from a year earlier, while the biggest surprise was a major lift in industrial production figures reaching 8.5% year-on-year in March. Comfortably beating expectations of 5.9%, the growth of industrial production was its fastest in five years, causing the Australian dollar to reach intraday highs of 0.7205.

From a technical perspective, the AUD/USD pair is currently trading at 0.7178 after failing to gain any momentum whereby the US 72 cent resistance levels continue to be a major hurdle. We continue to expect support to hold on moves approaching 0.7140 as domestic employment figures will likely determine direction for the Australian Dollar heading into the long weekend.

Key Movers

The strong data set from China yesterday saw a boost to risk appetite in general as the greenback weakened against a basket of currencies during the Asian trading session. The Dollar Index (DXY) declined from the 97 handle to intraday lows of 96.82. Both the Australian and Kiwi were the main beneficiaries of Chinese impressive industrial production figures.

The Pound slipped lower on their own consumer price index release as the 12-month print came in at 1.9% and slightly missed expectations of 2.0%. Cable has slipped from weekly highs of 1.3130 to 1.3040 overnight as the Great British Pound movements continue to be determined by Brexit announcements.

There was little to take note otherwise overnight as investors look to close out their positions heading into the long weekend for Easter. Of note this evening to round off the short week of trading is the release of Retail Sales in the United States and the UK.

Expected Ranges

AUD/USD: 0.7120 - 0.7220 ▲

AUD/NZD: 1.0600 - 1.0730 ▲

AUD/EUR: 0.6300 - 0.63800

GBP/AUD: 1.8000 - 1.8300 ▼

AUD/CAD: 0.9500 - 0.9620

Author

OzForex Research

OzForex Foreign Exchange

EUR/USD holds firm near 1.1850 amid USD weakness

EUR/USD remains strongly bid around 1.1850 in European trading on Monday. The USD/JPY slide-led broad US Dollar weakness helps the pair build on Friday's recovery ahead of the Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence data for February.

GBP/USD hovers near 1.3600 as UK government crisis weighs on Pound Sterling

GBP/USD moves sideways after registering modest gains in the previous session, trading around 1.3610 during the European hours on Monday. The pair could come under pressure as the Pound Sterling may weaken amid a fresh government crisis in the United Kingdom.

Gold remains supported by China's buying and USD weakness as traders eye US data

Gold struggles to capitalize on its intraday move up and remains below the $5,100 mark heading into the European session amid mixed cues. Data released over the weekend showed that the People's Bank of China extended its buying spree for a 15th month in January. Moreover, dovish US Fed expectations and concerns about the central bank's independence drag the US Dollar lower for the second straight day, providing an additional boost to the non-yielding yellow metal.

Cardano steadies as whale selling caps recovery

Cardano (ADA) steadies at $0.27 at the time of writing on Monday after slipping more than 5% in the previous week. On-chain data indicate a bearish trend, with certain whales offloading ADA. However, the technical outlook suggests bearish momentum is weakening, raising the possibility of a short-term relief rebound if buying interest picks up.

Japanese PM Takaichi nabs unprecedented victory – US data eyed this week

I do not think I would be exaggerating to say that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s snap general election gamble paid off over the weekend – and then some. This secured the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) an unprecedented mandate just three months into her tenure.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple consolidate after massive sell-off

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple prices consolidated on Monday after correcting by nearly 9%, 8%, and 10% in the previous week, respectively. BTC is hovering around $70,000, while ETH and XRP are facing rejection at key levels. Traders should be cautious: despite recent stabilization, upside recovery for these top three cryptocurrencies is capped as the broader trend remains bearish.