The Aussie bulls went to work early and it looks like it paid off, as they were able to sustain their gains throughout the day. AUD/USD closed 38 pips higher at 1.0130, marking the third day in a row that the Aussiefinished higher.
Can the Aussie bulls finish off the week with another victory?
If you ask me, I don’t expect too much volatility in the markets, especially with the holidays right around the corner. Don’t expect too much volatility, but remain cautious, as thin liquidity may lead to some wild moves in the market.
Talk about ending the year with a bang! The Aussie rocketed up the charts before the year came to a close as AUD/USD reached the 1.0250 mark while AUD/JPY climbed towards the 79.00 handle. Will these pairs be able to hold on to its recent gains?
Even though the Land Down Under didn’t release any top-tier reports during the last week of December, the Australian dollar was anything but down under on those days. Aussie pairs were able to benefit from the Santa Claus rally as traders took profits before the year came to a close.
Australia won’t be releasing any big reports for the first two days of this week as its first major economic data will come in on Thursday in the form of its trade balance report. Their surplus is projected to widen from 1.60 billion AUD to 1.68 billion AUD for November, indicating that net exports grew stronger during the month.
For now, it might be best to gauge market sentiment by reading up on what drove the major currencies last year and what could move the forex market this 2012. Happy new year, everyone!
Trading the Aussie was like going on a surf trip and having no waves – boring! AUD/USD stuck within a tight range of just 40 pips and eventually closed at 1.0231, up just 8 pips from its opening price.
With traders coming back from the holidays, lets see which way they’ll re-establish their positions. Currently, the Aussie is making an early rally during the Tokyo session and appears to be on its way to testing major resistance at 1.0300. Let’s see if risk appetite will allow the pair to continue this rally in the latter sessions.
Whoa! The Aussie just skyrocketed up the charts like a Justin Bieber song! Yesterday, AUD/USD rallied from its opening price of 1.0231 and closed at 1.0372. Meanwhile, AUD/JPY ended the day with an 85-pip win at 79.51.
We didn’t get any economic report from Australia but positive data from the U.S. and euro zone were enough to get higher-yielding currencies rallying on risk appetite.
A few economic reports coming from the euro zone and the U.S. are listed today on our calendar, so it might be a good idea to keep tabs on them. Also be sure you don’t miss the December AIG index report from the Land Down Under due later today at 10:30 pm GMT. A figure higher than November’s 47.7 reading may just fuel the Aussie up the charts even further!
The Aussie finally halted its 4-day winning streak against the Greenback as concerns in Europe weighed on risk appetite. As a result, AUD/USD stalled, forming a beautiful doji on the daily chart as the pair closed just 1 pip lower at 1.0371. Could this be the start of a big reversal? Yikes!
The recent risk rally seems to have stalled as renewed concerns in the euro zone snuffed demand for high-yielding assets. Today’s soft trade balance data also dealt a massive blow to demand for the Aussie. Instead of expanding to 1.68 billion AUD, Australia’s trade surplus shrank from 1.42 billion AUD to just 1.38 billion AUD. What a letdown!
It seems like we’ll have plenty of time to ponder on this report since Australia won’t be releasing anything else today. In the meantime, set your eyes west, where the U.S. will be publishing some heavy reports! Look for these reports to shift risk appetite if they don’t come in as expected!
With high-yielding assets dropping all over the charts yesterday, you can bet that the Aussie went down with it! AUD/USD slumped almost as soon as the day started, and closed 106 pips below its open price after hitting an intraday low of 1.0232. What the heck happened?
Risk aversion, that’s what happened. France’s bond auctions didn’t go as well as market geeks had been expecting, while China raised its daily reference rate against the Greenback on economic growth concerns.
And let’s not forget that Australia released a weak trade balance report! The country’s trade surplus narrowed down to 1.38 billion AUD in November after October’s 1.60 billion AUD figure was also revised down to 1.42 billion AUD. Uh-oh.
Will the Aussie make a comeback today? The economic board is empty in the Land Down Under today, but make sure you stay glued to the tube for any surprises!
For the second straight day last Friday, the Aussie suffered under the might of the Greenback. AUD/USD fell to 1.0228, 38 pips lower from its opening price that day. This time around, however, the Aussie fell not because of risk aversion, but from stronger-than-expected fundamental reports from U.S.
The U.S. non-farm payrolls beat forecast and printed a 200,000 gain in net jobs, much higher than the 152,000 increase first predicted. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate dropped to 8.5% from 8.7%.
Earlier today, Australia’s retail sales report printed. It disappointed the market as it came out with a flat reading instead of the 0.4% rise initially expected.
The release of the building approvals report tomorrow will be the only high profile economic report that will be released from Australia this week. The forecast is a 6.3% increase, opposite the 10.7% decline seen the month before.
As my man Pip Surfer would say, surf’s up bro! Buckling the release of poor retail sales data, Aussie bulls rode a nice wave of risk appetite later in the day, allowing AUD/USD to post some gnarly gains. After trading as low as 1.0146, AUD/USD finished the day at 1.0246, up exactly 50 pips from its opening price.
Early in the day, Australian retail sales figures were released. Unfortunately, the report printed in the red, as it showed zero growth in November after it was expected to come in at 0.4%. This marked the third consecutive month that the report failed to hit consensus, and was also the third consecutive month that growth has slowed down. Could this be a sign that the Land Down Under is slowing down?
Earlier today, building approvals figures were released and showed that 8.4% more approvals were issued. This is good news, as it signals that more construction could take place over the next few months.
Nothing else lined up today, so make sure you keep an eye out for the other major currency pairs as well as the equity markets. Risk sentiment is up right now, but always remember that it can change on a dime, so be careful!
Another day, another win! The Aussie is now 2 and 0 against the Greenback this week as it followed up its climb on Monday with a 61-pip rally. After gapping down over the weekend, AUD/USD skyrocketed to close just above the 1.0300 handle at the end of the day.
Demand for the Aussie really picked up after Australia rolled out its building approvals report. According to the latest stats, the number of building approvals issued rose by 8.4% in November, surpassing forecasts which called for a 6.6% increase.
Of course, the Aussie also got a boost from improved risk appetite and a surge in commodities. They don’t call the Aussie a commodity dollar for nothing, you know!
Since Australia won’t be publishing any major reports today, it’s likely that AUD/USD price action will depend on the market’s risk appetite. Y’all know what that means, right? Keep tabs on risk sentiment, folks!
Whew, that was close! Just when you thought that the Aussie is headed for the loserville, AUD/USD managed to end the day 3 pips higher than its open price! Okay, so maybe that wasn’t much of a victory, but hey, it’s better than a loss, right?
Though Australia didn’t release any economic report yesterday, the Aussie still fell against some of its major counterparts while investors worried about the economic reports that were popping out from the euro zone and the U.K. Heck, even the other comdolls suffered setbacks yesterday.
Will the high-yielding Aussie still manage to hold on to its gains today? No economic data is scheduled for release in the Land Down Under, but that doesn’t mean that you can sit around and doze off! A lot of tier one reports are due from the euro zone, the U.K., and the U.S. today so you better be on your toes with your trades!
The Aussie rode the risk appetite tide in yesterday’s trading and surfed up the charts. Opening at 1.0309, AUD/USD traded higher and ended the day at 1.0342.
It looks like the currency is taking its cues from market sentiment. Yesterday it would seem that the more-optimistic-than-expected ECB statement fueled the comdoll’s rally. Hmmm, I wonder what would get it hustlin’ on the charts today. Perhaps the roster of economic reports we have on tap from the U.S.?
Given that our forex calendar doesn’t have anything scheduled from Australia, be sure to be on your toes for the data we have for the dollar as they may affect market sentiment. Good luck!
Like most of its comdoll buddies, the Aussie rolled in the deep, the chart deeps last Friday. Risk aversion across the board dragged AUD/USD to an intraday low of 1.0232 before it leveled off to a close only 35 pips down from its open price.
No reports were released from the Land Down Under yesterday, but a risk averse market environment inspired the selling of high-yielding currencies like Happy Pip’s comdolls.
Will the Aussie’s luck turn this week? A couple of hours ago we saw the MI inflation gauge come in at a 0.5% growth in December, a jump from its 0.1% decline in November. Meanwhile, the ANZ job ads and home loans data provided mixed sentiment with the ANZ job ads falling by 0.9% in December against November’s 0.1% rise and the home loans report showing a 1.4% growth in November against expectations of only a 1.0% growth.
No other reports are scheduled for release today, but keep close tabs on other big reports coming up this week, aight? The Westpac consumer confidence report is up tomorrow at 11:30 pm GMT, followed by the new motor vehicle sales on Wednesday at 12:30 am GMT.
On Thursday we’ll see the much-awaited employment reports at 12:30 am GMT, which will be joined by the MI inflation expectations data released around the same time. Lastly, Australia’s quarterly import prices will be released on Friday at 12:30 am GMT.
Stay sharp on your trades!
The Australian dollar ended higher against the U.S. dollar yesterday as it got a boost from better than expected economic data. AUD/USD opened at 1.0291, reached a high of 1.0338, then closed at 1.0309.
ANZ reported a 0.9% decline in job advertisements for December, hinting at dimmer prospects for the Australian labor market. However, this downbeat news was quickly overshadowed by the home loans data which showed a 1.4% increase for November. This was higher than the predicted 1.0% increase and October’s 0.8% rise in home loans.
There aren’t any economic reports due from Australia today, but that doesn’t mean the Aussie is in for a dull trading day! Note that China, its number one trading partner, is set to release a ton of economic data starting at 2:00 am GMT.
First up is its Q4 2011 GDP figure, which is estimated to show a 8.7% expansion, slightly slower than the 9.1% growth seen in the previous quarter. A higher than expected figure could bring risk appetite back to the markets, which could provide support for the Aussie. Also due today is China’s industrial production report, which could print a 12.3% year-over-year increase. Last but not least is the retail sales figure, which is expected to reveal a 17.2% rise.
Thanks to improved risk sentiment, the Aussie was able to post its second straight win versus the Greenback yesterday! After opening the Asian trading session at 1.0309, AUD/USD managed rally during the day to end the U.S. trading session with a 59-pip gain.
There weren’t important news releases from Australia yesterday, but it will be completely different today. At 12:30 am GMT later, the Australian Bureau of Statistics will publish labor data. The market is expecting the report to show that 10,300 net jobs were added and that the unemployment rate remained at 5.3%. Better-than-expected figures tend to be bullish for the Aussie.
Thanks to the surge in risk appetite, the Aussie was able to score gains against the lower-yielding Japanese yen and U.S. dollar yesterday. AUD/USD ended the day 29 pips up from the 1.0400 handle while AUD/JPY edged even closer to the 80.00 handle.
It’s surprising that the Aussie was able to end the day on a positive note when economic data from Australia came in weaker than expected. The new motor vehicle sales data printed a 2.9% decline instead of the 2.3% increase that analysts projected, reflecting a downturn in consumer confidence and spending.
Fresh off the press was Australia’s MI inflation expectations which came in at 2.8% for December, higher than the previous month’s 2.4% reading. This shows that consumers expect inflation to surge in the next 12 months. No other reports are due from Australia in the next 24 hours so make sure you keep tabs on risk sentiment to figure out whether the Aussie could extend its rally or not.
Oddly enough, the Aussie didn’t participate in yesterday’s risk rally. As a matter of fact, AUD/USD posted its first decline this week as it slid 12 pips to 1.0417. Blame it on weak employment data, I say!
To be honest, I’m not that surprised that the Aussie performed poorly yesterday. From the get-go, it had a huge mountain to climb as it had to overcome soft employment figures early in the day.
According to last month’s stats, Australia lost a total of 29,300 jobs, which is sort of surprising considering you’d expect to see a slight increase in hiring as companies strive to cope with high holiday demand.
In any case, it was widely disappointing to those who were expecting to see an increase of 10,200 jobs to undo the 7,500 jobs that were lost in November. However, even with these losses, the unemployment rate came in at 5.2% last month, slightly better than the 5.3% that had been predicted. Be that as it may, economic nerds still pretty much agree that the employment situation still calls for a rate cut next month.
For the rest of the day, I suggest y’all keep tabs on risk sentiment since it will probably continue dictating price action on the charts. Since Australia doesn’t have any tier 1 reports on the economic calendar today, the Aussie might just go with the flow in the event another risk rally strikes the markets. Good luck, homies!
Surf’s up, Aussie bulls! Thanks to strong Australian data and a bit of risk appetite in markets, AUD/USD blasted above its intraweek resistance at 1.0450 and capped the week at 1.0485. Awesome!
Good vibes for the Aussie started during the early Asian session when Australia’s quarterly import prices printed a 2.5% growth for the fourth quarter. The figure not only beat third quarter’s flat growth, but also expected expectations of a 0.9% gain during the period.
It didn’t hurt the Aussie that Prime Minister Julia Gillard expressed her government’s optimism and commitment to economic growth. Of course, she compared her economy to the U.S. and the euro zone, but still, hearing a Prime Minster say that the economy will remain “the envy of the world” probably motivated investors to stock up on the Aussie.
Will this week’s economic reports fuel the Aussie rally? Early today we saw Australia’s PPI came in at 0.3% during the fourth quarter. It wasn’t as impressive as the import prices report last week, but looking at AUD/USD’s immediate reaction, traders are mostly shrugging the report off.
If you’re looking for more reports, then you better wait for the CB leading index report at 11:00 pm GMT. If not, then maybe you can catch the CB leading index report later at 11:00 pm GMT, or the MI leading index tomorrow at 11:30 pm GMT.
Also scheduled for release this week is the quarterly CPI report on Wednesday at 12:30 am GMT. Australia is on a bank holiday on Wednesday though, so you might not see much action on the Aussie.
For the rest of the week Australia won’t be releasing any economic report, but don’t forget to watch out for any other potential market-moving report that might shift sentiment on the comdolls!
Up, up, here we go! Aussie pairs were able to catch the strong wave of risk appetite yesterday, with AUD/USD reaching a high of 1.0574 and AUD/JPY breaking above the 80.00 major psychological handle. Can they hold on to their recent gains and even go for more?
Australia’s PPI report came in line with expectations as it printed a 0.3% increase in producer prices for the last quarter of 2011. As a leading indicator of consumer inflation, the PPI report hints that the upcoming CPI release could also come within consensus and show that inflation is rising at a healthy pace for Australia.
Only the MI leading index is set for release from Australia today, and that ain’t until 11:30 pm GMT! The index showed a mere 0.1% uptick for October and could reflect a slight downturn in Australia’s economic standing for November. After all, Australian economic figures haven’t exactly been on the up and up lately. However, if the report shows a considerable uptick, Aussie pairs could be in for more gains, so keep your eyes peeled for the report!
Unlike its comdoll siblings, the Aussie found itself swimming at the bottom of the Great Barrier Reef yesterday. AUD/USD dropped 50 pips from its opening price to finish the day 1.0478. Could this be a sign of more losses for the Australian dollar?
One reason why the Aussie dropped was due to a decrease in the leading indicators index. The index fell by 0.2%, which could indicate further weakness in the Australian economy down the road.
In other news, quarterly CPI figures hit the airwaves this morning and surprisingly came in to show zero growth in consumer prices. It was expected that the CPI increased by 0.2% last quarter. Now that inflationary pressures are dying down a bit, this might just entice the RBA to bring out the big guns and start cutting rates later this year.
Soft inflationary data? Who cares! The Aussie shrugged off its weaker-than-expected CPI to post big gains during yesterday’s trading. The broad risk rally we witnessed saw AUD/USD end the day 125 pip higher at 1.0605. Yowza!
Australia’s CPI clocked in at 0.0% last quarter, just below the forecasted 0.2% increase. Investors believe this will give the RBA more room to push through with its planned rate cuts. As a matter of fact, many say we could see the central bank slash its rates as early as next month!
Yet despite all of this, the Aussie wound up on the winning side of the equation yesterday. Why? Because of yesterday’s strong risk rally! Equities, commodities, and high-yielding currencies took off yesterday, posting huge gains across the boards. Gold, for instance, rose from 1665.70 to 1710.50, its biggest daily gain since October of last year. And y’all know that wherever gold goes, the Aussie usually follows!
No reports from Australia on tap today, so if you’re looking to trade the Aussie, you’d better keep risk sentiment in check! Good luck, fellas!