AUD/USD prints fresh session high after above-forecast Aussie CPI

AUD/USD adds 10 pips following the Aussie Q4 inflation data.
Australia's CPI jumps 0.9%, bettering conensus estimate of 0.7% rise.
RBA's trimmed mean matches estimates, Aussie's Business Confidence index ticks higher.

Omkar Godbole FXStreet Contributor

The already bid Aussie dollar extends gains by 10 pips, printing a fresh session high of 0.7764, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter inflation figures. The previous session high was 0.7758.

CPI beats estimates

Australia's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.9% quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter, beating the estimate of a 0.7% rise but down from the preceding quarter's 1.6% rise. In December, the ABS had warned of an uptick in inflation due to a jump in childcare costs. The CPI rose 0.9% in annualized terms versus expectations of 0.7%.

The Reserve Bank of Australia's Trimmed Mean CPI rose 0.4% and 1.4% as expected in quarter-on-quarter and annualized terms, respectively.

The above-forecast headline CPI, coupled with the uptick in the National Australia Bank's Business Confidence index, is positive news for the Aussie dollar. However, the data is not strong enough to force the RBA to reconsider its easing bias.

That said, further gains may be in the offing as the risk sentiment has been boosted by coronavirus vaccine updates and cautiously optimistic IMF.

The Biden administration said Tuesday that it would purchase 100 million doses each of the vaccines made by Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc, increasing the overall total doses to 600 million.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised the 2021 global economic growth forecast higher to 5.5% versus 5.2%.

At press time, AUD/USD is trading near 0.7754, representing a 0.10% gain on the day, having risen from 0.7669 to 0.7754 on Tuesday.

Technical levels

AUD/USD

Overview
Today last price	0.7756
Today Daily Change	0.0006
Today Daily Change %	0.08
Today daily open	0.775

Trends
Daily SMA20	0.7731
Daily SMA50	0.7572
Daily SMA100	0.7374
Daily SMA200	0.714

Levels
Previous Daily High	0.7755
Previous Daily Low	0.7668
Previous Weekly High	0.7783
Previous Weekly Low	0.7658
Previous Monthly High	0.7743
Previous Monthly Low	0.7338
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	0.7722
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	0.7701
Daily Pivot Point S1	0.7694
Daily Pivot Point S2	0.7637
Daily Pivot Point S3	0.7607
Daily Pivot Point R1	0.7781
Daily Pivot Point R2	0.7811
Daily Pivot Point R3	0.7868

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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