|

AUD/USD extends reversal and rises to test weekly highs

  • A slide of the US dollar pushed AUD/USD further to the upside during the US session.
  • The pair remains in a range but after today’s rally, closer to the upper limit.

The AUD/USD pair gained momentum on the back of a decline of the greenback across the board. The recovery of the pair was capped below the weekly high at 0.7340 and near the end of the sessions was hovering around 0.7435, up 20 pips for the day, about to post the second gain in a row.

Earlier today, the Reserve Bank of Australia as expected left interest rates unchanged. Governor Lowe confirmed that the central bank is in no hurry to change rates. The meeting had no impact on the Aussie. On Friday the release of the Monetary Policy Statement could offer more clues.

In a few minutes (at 21:00 GMT) the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will announce its decision. Also, no change is expected and it is likely to be a non-event. But any surprise could have an impact on the AUD/NZD pair and therefore on AUD/USD. During the Asian session, Chinese inflation data is due.

AUD/USD Technical outlook

“The sharp recovery suggests that bulls are willing to challenge bears' determination right above the current level, and technical readings in the 4 hours chart support so, as indicators resumed their declines after nearing their midlines, while the pair settled firmly above a bullish 20 SMA, which advances above the larger ones”, says Valeria Bednarik, Chief Analyst at FXStreet.

According to her, the key level to watch continued to be the July high at 0.7483, “as sellers will likely give up on a break above this last.” To test 0.7480/85, AUD/USD needs to break the 0.7440 resistance.

Author

Matías Salord

Matías started in financial markets in 2008, after graduating in Economics. He was trained in chart analysis and then became an educator. He also studied Journalism. He started writing analyses for specialized websites before joining FXStreet.

More from Matías Salord
Share:

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD flirts with daily highs, retargets 1.1900

EUR/USD regains upside traction, returning to the 1.1880 zone and refocusing its attention to the key 1.1900 barrier. The pair’s slight gains comes against the backdrop of a humble decline in the US Dollar as investors continue to assess the latest US CPI readings and the potential Fed’s rate path.

GBP/USD remains well bid around 1.3650

GBP/USD maintains its upside momentum in place, hovering around daily highs near 1.3650 and setting aside part of the recent three-day drop. Cable’s improved sentiment comes on the back of the Greenback’s  irresolute price action, while recent hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill also collaborate with the uptick.

Gold clings to gains just above $5,000/oz

Gold is reclaiming part of the ground lost on Wednesday’s marked decline, as bargain-hunters keep piling up and lifting prices past the key $5,000 per troy ounce. The precious metal’s move higher is also underpinned by the slight pullback in the US Dollar and declining US Treasury yields across the curve.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP in choppy price action, weighed down by falling institutional interest 

Bitcoin's upside remains largely constrained amid weak technicals and declining institutional interest. Ethereum trades sideways above $1,900 support with the upside capped below $2,000 amid ETF outflows.

Week ahead – Data blitz, Fed Minutes and RBNZ decision in the spotlight

US GDP and PCE inflation are main highlights, plus the Fed minutes. UK and Japan have busy calendars too with focus on CPI. Flash PMIs for February will also be doing the rounds. RBNZ meets, is unlikely to follow RBA’s hawkish path.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP potential bottom could be in sight

Ripple edges up above the intraday low of $1.35 at the time of writing on Friday amid mixed price actions across the crypto market. The remittance token failed to hold support at $1.40 the previous day, reflecting risk-off sentiment amid a decline in retail and institutional sentiment.