Wipe out! The Aussie took a nasty fall during the early Asian session after weak retail sales and building approvals reports were released from Australia. Still, the AUDUSD fought to keep its head above the 0.9150 level while the AUDJPY grabbed onto the 85.75 handle.
Later on, Australia released another bleak economic report in the form of the AIG manufacturing index. The reading dipped from 53.8 to 50.2 in March, signalling that the expansion in the manufacturing industry slowed down during the month. Although the index remains above the 50.0 mark, the fall was caused by the decrease in orders for consumer goods.
On top of that, Australia’s trade deficit worsened in February as it widened from 1.12 billion AUD to 1.92 billion AUD. Trouble in their export industry, perhaps?
On a more upbeat note, the MI inflation gauge rose from 0.1% to 0.5% in March, putting pressure on the RBA to implement another rate hike soon. Stay on your toes during the next RBA rate decision on April 6!
Up ahead, the commodity prices report is set for release at 5:30 am GMT today. Prices of commodities have long been dropping but at a decreasing pace. In February, commodity prices fell by an annualized 9.7%. A smaller decline could be bullish for the commodity-dependent Australia and could provide a bit of support for the Aussie.
No other economic reports are due from Australia later on but that doesn’t mean the price action would be calm for the rest of the week! Keep an eye out for the release of the US non-farm payrolls report on Friday since this could make some wild waves in the markets!