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Australian Dollar Strengthens Against The US Dollar And On The Crosses

Published 08/06/2017, 12:12 pm
Updated 06/07/2021, 05:05 pm

Originally published by AxiTrader

The Australian dollar continues to be well supported trading up to its highest level since Anzac Day with a peak of 0.7566 against the US dollar overnight. It is also making gains against the euro, kiwi, Canadian dollar, and yen with this current rally.

It's a strange rally in many ways because at a macro level the fundamental supports seem to be lacking.

Iron ore is languishing again. Australian GDP growth yesterday wasn't awful. But it was supported by inventory and consumption - both of which may prove ephemeral drivers. And the growth rate of just 1.7% for the year to the end of March is the weakest level since the GFC.

Chart

It's not the healthiest starting point for the RBA's increasingly heroic expectation that growth is going to accelerate back toward potential at 3% and beyond. But it was that expectation, and a weaker US dollar which was a big part of the drive higher in the Aussie so far this week.

But my sense of this rally is that with the Aussie consistently finding support recently in the mid 73 cent region against the US dollar, with the AUD/NZD itself finding support above 1.04 and near a long term trendline which stretches back to 2104, and with the Australian data over the past few days not as bad as many were starting to fear the outlook for the Aussie brightened. Both against the US dollar and on the crosses.

Chart

Naturally, as I have been writing the last few days it was also a technically driven rally with the break of the 200 day moving average at 0.7527 a positive medium term sign.

The question of course is can the Aussie continue to rise against this backdrop where iron ore is weak, bond spreads to the US compressed, and the domestic economic outlook clouded.

The answer to that question is maybe.

The Aussie has materially underperformed US dollar weakness over the past month and is only just now starting to catch up. That's one of the reasons it's again making headway on the crosses.

Based on just the US dollar as an indicator - without the handbrake of Australia's commodity basket and bond spreads - the Aussie could be trading as high as 79 cents. But when you add in the hand brakes the Aussie is likely approach a fairer value in this 0.7550 region right now.

That means it gains are going to be harder to find unless we see further US dollar selling or a turnaround in base metal prices and or bond spreads. That might be a stretch right now. And that suggests a move up to 0.7590/0.7610 might be both achievable short term but a stretch to hold for an extended period for the Aussie.

Short term the 4 hour charts for the AUD/USD look like they might be turning for a run back toward 0.7620/25 while below last night's high at 0.7566. There is short term support from a very steep trendline at 0.7535 on the day as well.

Here's the chart.

Chart

The crosses are more sanguine.

AUD/NZD looks positive up toward resistance at 1.0550. But that resistance, the bottom of the old downtrend channel, looks pretty solid right now. EUR/AUD looks biased lower though. Perhaps even to 1.4650 or lower.

AUD/JPY is in a range and GBP/AUD depends on the outcome of the election tonight.

On the data front both the Australian and Chinese trade data will be important today for Aussie dollar traders.

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