AUD/USD clocks fresh 2-year high on hawkish RBA minutes & US health care debacle

Omkar Godbole FXStreet Contributor

The demise of the US health care bill triggered a wave of selling in the USD, which pushed AUD/USD to a session high of 0.7841 levels (highest since June 2015).

The hawkish RBA minutes only added fuel to the fire. However, to a certain extent, the minutes are being dwarfed by the health care story, which is moving the FX markets as of now.

Aussie bond yields drop

The minutes may sound hawkish, although the Aussie bond yields are not impressed. The 10-year yield is down close to two basis points at 2.714%. Meanwhile, its counterpart is relatively strong, down less than one basis point at 2.3%.

Nevertheless, concerns that Trump would have a hard time pushing through the tax/fiscal reforms are forcing investors to move out of the US dollar.

AUD/USD Technical Levels

An end of the day close above 0.7831 (23.6% Fib R of 2011 high - 2016 low) would open door for a more sustainable rally towards 0.7938 (Mar 2015 high) and 0.80 (zero levels). On the downside, failure to hold above 0.78 (zero levels) could yield a pullback to 0.7773 (5-DMA) and 0.7740 (July 13 high).

	TREND INDEX	OB/OS INDEX	VOLATILY INDEX
15M	Bullish	Overbought	High
1H	Bearish	Oversold	High
4H	Bearish	Neutral	Low
1D	Bearish	Overbought	High
1W	Bullish	Overbought	Expanding
Updated Jul 18, 01:45 GMT

Author

Omkar Godbole

FXStreet Contributor

Omkar Godbole, editor and analyst, joined FXStreet after four years as a research analyst at several Indian brokerage companies.

GBP/USD sticks to red near 1.3650, eyes on Iran sanctions

GBP/USD trades with a negative bias around mid-1.3600s at the start of a new week on Monday. The US Dollar recovers ground due to uncertainty over potential US economic sanctions on Iran, leaving the risk-sensitive British Pound on the backfoot.

EUR/USD stays defensive below 1.1700 amid cautious markets

EUR/USD is trading defensively below 1.1700 in Monday's European trading. The pair struggles as the US Dollar attempts a tepid recovery following last week's US Treasury bond buyback plan-led sell-off. Markets remain unnerved amid US threats to impose economic sanctions on Iran, the details of which are expected to be announced later in the day.

Gold sits at three-month highs near $4,650

Gold is sitting close to its highest level in three months, near $4,650, in the European session on Monday. The precious metal capitalizes on persistent US Dollar weakness, following the US Treasury's buyback plan amid fresh US-Canada trade tensions. Traders await Iran sanction details for further impetus.

Here's what I learned trading meme coins

I’ve been trading cryptocurrencies for the past seven years, with meme coins becoming one of the most exciting and implacable parts of my experience. I love them because they represent internet culture and community sentiment, and, let’s be honest, extreme speculation. Newly launched meme coins were especially tempting: get in early enough, I thought, and a small bet could turn into a huge return.

The week ahead: Jackson Hole and Nvidia results to take focus away from Trump

We start the week with the focus squarely on the US. Rising Treasury yields, the Jackson Hole Symposium, inflation and GDP data, along with tariff risks, will dominate market action in the coming days.

$20 billion offered, $2 billion taken: Why Treasury doubled its buyback cap

The US Treasury moved off its own calendar on Wednesday, and that is the part worth sitting with. At 12:32 GMT, the department said it would at least double the size of liquidity support buyback operations in the 10-year to 20-year and 20-year to 30-year sectors, lifting the maximum from $2 billion per operation to at least $4 billion, effective September 9 and running to November 4.