|

AUD/USD Price Analysis: Levels to consider before Aussie CPI

  • Aussie Q4 CPI is out at 11:30am AEDT, as the main event today.
  • Expectations are for the Trimmed Mean (RBA's focus) to print 0.4% QoQ (prior 0.4% leaving YoY at 1.5% (prior 1.6%)).
  • AUD/USD hugging a 161.8% Fibonacci extension level ahead of CPI.

The Reserve Bank of Australia forecasted trimmed mean inflation to come in at  0.4% and 1.6% YoY, which had been published in the SoMP.  However, the key focus will have been on the Aussie jobs data back on the 23rd which showed glimmers of positives considering the trend in a falling unemployment rate. The data boosted the Aussie into buy stop liquidity, an area forecasted ahead of the data, before the market changed course on risk-off flows and a stronger greenback.

An inline CPI result today could give the bulls some buying power and protect the price from slipping further, especially when considering the divergence between momentum and price action on the hourly charts as well as a bullish development on the daily chart in the same regard following a bullish pin bar overnight. However, the most that could be hoped for is a bullish correction back to 0.68 the Figure and buy stop liquidity slightly beyond (0.6830s).

Bullish CPI: 0.6813 comes in as a prior 61.8% Fiboretracement target of the prior downside impulse

AUD/USD can move back to the 0.68 handle. Should support hold in the 0.68 handle and prior support before the next impulse to the downside. 

61.8% of recent downside impulse comes in 0.6790

The 61.8% Fibonacci may come as a resistance ahead of 0.68 handle. It is also worth noting that should the data not be a catalyst for significant price action, so long as the data is in line with the RBA's forecasts, a bullish scenario, then the price may take some time to grind higher into buy liquidity in the 0.68 handle ahead of the RBA meeting, 4th Feb.

Bears target 0.6700/20

In a bearish scenario, should CPI deteriorate significantly, there has been enough of a correction to see the bears take the price down to a -27.00% Fib target of 0.6714 and 0.6700 psychological number with a confluence of the Sep-Oct support-structure.

0.6780 comes in as a 61.8% Fibonacci retracement target of the prior downside impulse. 

Author

Ross J Burland

Ross J Burland, born in England, UK, is a sportsman at heart. He played Rugby and Judo for his county, Kent and the South East of England Rugby team.

More from Ross J Burland
Share:

Editor's Picks

GBP/USD off highs, back to 1.3620

GBP/USD remains slightly on the defensive at the end of the week, receding to the low 1.3600s after hitting fresh tops past 1.3670 earlier in the day. Cable’s correction comes after two daily gains in a row and amid a tepid advance in the Greenback, while poor UK data also accompany the downside.

EUR/USD treads water below 1.1700

EUR/USD now trades with modest losses around 1.1670 following another unsuccessful atempt to advance past 1.1700 the figure in a convincing fashion. The pair’s decline follows a maginal rebound in the US Dollar as market participants continue to assess recent US data as well as developments from the US bond market.

Gold eases from mid-May highs; holds above $4,600 amid bearish USD

Gold pulls back slightly from its highest level since mid-May, touched during the Asian session on Monday, though it manages to hold above $4,600. Diminishing odds of an immediate Fed rate hike continue to undermine the US Dollar despite further escalation of US-Iran tension and inflation risks stemming from higher oil prices. This continues to underpin the non-yielding bullion, though bulls seem hesitant ahead of key US inflation data and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium later this week.

Week ahead: Fed’s Jackson Hole and Nvidia earnings to dictate markets
The new Fed chair, Kevin Warsh, has made few public appearances since taking the central bank helm in May, yet he’s found it difficult to steer off controversy. Question marks about his relations with the President, Donald Trump, continue to swirl, while markets are still trying to make sense of his approach to monetary policy.
CFTC Report: Oil positioning rebounds; VIX and Yen exposure turn more bearish
The week in one sentence: Speculative positioning turned more constructive in the week to August 18. WTI recorded the largest increase, followed by a sharp narrowing in CAD net shorts. VIX and JPY positioning moved the other way, while Gold remained the clearest crowded long despite a softer spot price.
$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.