AUD/USD – Steady on Positive Aussie Data

AUD/USD has posted losses on Thursday, continuing the trend which started the week. The struggling Aussie has lost about 160 points since the start of the week. Early in the North American session, the pair is trading just above the 0.85 line. In Australia Private Capital Expenditure posted a small gain of 0.2% in Q3. HIA New Home Sales, a minor event, climbed 3.0%. US markets are closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, so traders can expect light trading during the North American session.

In Australia, Private Capital Expenditure, a key event, easily beat expectations with a gain of 0.2% in Q3.The markets had predicted a fall of 1.7%. Still, this was a much softer reading than the Q2 reading of 1.1%. Earlier in the week, Australian construction data looked awful, as Construction Work Done slipped 2.2% in Q3, worse than the estimate of -1.7%. The weak reading could provide some insight as to what we can expect from Australian GDP next week, as the stagnating construction sector could weigh on economic activity.

The US released a host of key data on Wednesday, but the numbers were weak across-the-board. Unemployment Claims jumped to 313 thousand, its highest level since mid-September. Core Durable Goods Orders declined 0.9%, its third decline in four readings. The estimate stood at 0.5%. New Home Sales fell to a 3-month low, dropping to 458 thousand. This was short of the estimate of 471 thousand. Pending Home Sales was no better, declining by 1.1%, well off the estimate of 0.9%. There was better news from UoM Consumer Sentiment, which posted a fourth straight gain, rising to 88.8 points. However, this was short of the estimate of 90.2 points. Despite all the gloomy numbers, the US dollar managed to post gains against the Aussie, thanks to weak Australian construction data.

AUD/USD 0.8560 L: 0.8616 H: 0.8530