And just like that, the AUD/USD pair returned to the 0.9000 zone. This came after Australia posted better-than-expected Retail Sales and Trade Balance figures for January. Retail Sales were up by 1.2% compared to the previous month, and was higher than the expected 0.5% growth. Meanwhile, the country’s trade balance went up by a whopping 1.433 billion, which was considerably higher than the expected 270 million. Exports and imports for the same period were up by 4% and 1%, respectively.
These events helped the AUD/USD pair to reach the 0.9000 once again after several days of high volatility due to events from China and Australia. However, the week isn’t over yet, and there is still the US NFP data coming out tomorrow, Friday. If it comes out lower than expected, then it would give the pair a chance to go even higher.
The pair opened at a decent 0.8976 during the Asian session, but quickly jumped up to 0.9033 after the release of the Australian Retail Sales and Trade Balance data. It then peaked at 0.9029 today, before sliding a bit lower as the Asian session progressed. It is currently trading at 0.9010, with initial resistance seen at 0.9023, followed by 0.9046. Meanwhile, initial support is at 0.8961, followed by 0.8939.
Later today, the Bank of England as well as the European Central Bank will release their respective monetary policy statements. No changes to their rates are expected, with the UK’s rate remaining at 0.5%, while the EU’s will continue to be at 0.25%. However, the statements might provide more clues on the respective banks’ outlooks on their own economies. As always expect a lot of volatility around these events, which will start at 12PM GMT.
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