AUD/USD extends losses as Australia building permits drop 9.7% in July

AUD/USD is losing altitude in response to dismal Australian building permits data.
Aussie building permits tanked 9.7% in July and private sector credit growth moderated.

Omkar Godbole FXStreet Contributor

The already weak AUD/USD is extending losses due to horribly weak Australian housing data released at 01:30 GMT.

Australia's building permits fell by 9.7% month-on-month in July, as opposed to the expected reading of 0.0%. The approvals had dropped by 1.2% in June.

The annualized reading came in at 28.5%, having dropped by 25.6% in the preceding month. Meanwhile, the annualized private sector credit growth moderated to 3.1% in July, after having risen by 3.3% in June.

The dismal housing data is AUD-negative. Moreover, it indicates the recent easing by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is yet to flow through to building approvals.

The central bank has eased policy twice since June to a record low of 1% and the market expects another rate cut before the year-end and one more in February.

As of writing, the AUD/USD is trading at session lows near 0.6706, having dropped close to 10 pips on the release of the dismal building approvals figure.

Pivot points

1. R3 0.6788
2. R2 0.6771
3. R1 0.675
PP 0.6733
1. S1 0.6712
2. S2 0.6695
3. S3 0.6674

Author

Omkar Godbole

FXStreet Contributor

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

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