Aussie Retail Sales worst than expected, AUD slides to fresh session lows

Ross J Burland FXStreet

Australia’s data focus is on June Retail Sales that has just been released as follows:

Australia Retail Sales for June, preliminary, arrived at -1.8% MoM vs the expected -0.5%.

Meanwhile, AUD/USD. already pressured by the spike in the delta variant today in Sydney and in general risk wariness, has been sent to fresh session lows of 0.7322 and falling ...

However, analysts at Westpac, prior to the rest, explained that the full impact of Victoria's restrictions will show in this survey which will be subject to revisions next time around.

''The lockdown in Sydney and another round of mini–lockdowns across multiple jurisdictions (QLD, WA, NT and VIC again) won’t hit until July.''

Overall, risk sentiment is fragile pertaining to the risk of the delay variant spreading worldwide.

New cases reported for the previous 24 hours are 110, up from 78 the previous day in Syndey. Neighbouring state Victoria reported a daily case number today at 22 from 13 the previous day.

Additionally, vaccines have been scrutinised for their effectiveness vs the variants and it does not read well:

Risk-off: bioRxiv study shows J&J vaccine may be less effective against Delta covid variant

This leaves a bearish environment for the higher beta currencies such as the Aussie.

Author

Ross J Burland

FXStreet

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.

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