Australia: Diminishing confidence in the economy - AmpGFX

Sandeep Kanihama FXStreet Contributor

According to Greg Gibbs, analyst at Amplifying Global FX Capital, the confidence in the Australian economy has diminished since the release of weaker than expected Q3 GDP growth; including weaker household consumption growth

Key Quotes

“With the AUD more closely aligned with Chinese equities in the last year, it is not clear if domestic economic and financial conditions (in Australia) have had a significant impact on the AUD.”

“The accelerating decline in house prices in the last year has contributed to fear that household consumption may slow further over the coming year. Along with a peaking in construction activity, this may pull the economy to below trend growth; pressuring the RBA to consider rate cuts.”

“Reports on retail foot traffic and mixed results reported by a number of retailers in late December are contributing to concerns that household consumption may be slowing; although data in November were a bit stronger than expected (still only up 2.8%y/y).”

Author

Sandeep Kanihama

FXStreet Contributor

Sandeep Kanihama is an FX Editor and Analyst with FXstreet having principally focus area on Asia and European markets with commodity, currency and equities coverage. He is stationed in the Indian capital city of Delhi.

EUR/USD climbs to daily highs near 1.1820

EUR/USD now picks up pace and advances to the area of daily peaks north of the 1.1800 barrier at the end of the week. The pair’s decent move higher comes against the backdrop of a generalised lack of direction in the FX galaxy and the mild offered stance in the US Dollar.

GBP/USD trims losses, retests 1.3460

After briefly challenging its key 200-day SMA near 1.3440, GBP/USD now manages to regain some balance and revisit the 1.3460 zone on Friday. Cable’s pullback comes as the selling pressure on the Greenback gathers traction, reigniting some recovery in the risk-linked space.

Gold flirts with four-week highs past $5,200

Gold extends its rebound, climbing for a third consecutive session and pushing back above the $5,200 mark per troy ounce on Friday. The move higher continues to draw support from lingering geopolitical tensions and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding US trade policy, both of which are keeping safe-haven demand firmly in play.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple consolidate with short-term cautious bullish bias

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple are consolidating near key technical areas on Friday, showing mild signs of stabilization after recent volatility. BTC holds above $67,000 despite mild losses so far this week, while ETH hovers around $2,000 after a rejection near its upper consolidation boundary.

Changing the game: International implications of recent tariff developments

The Supreme Court ruling on International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs provides limited relief for the rest of the world, with weighted average tariff rates modestly lower.

Starknet unveils strkBTC, shielded Bitcoin transactions on Ethereum Layer 2

Starknet, the Ethereum Layer 2 network developed by StarkWare, today announced strkBTC, a wrapped Bitcoin asset that introduces optional shielding while preserving full DeFi composability.