The Australian dollar has posted considerable losses on Thursday, erasing the gains from the Wednesday session. AUD/USD is trading at 0.7550 in the European session. In economic news, the US will publish Unemployment Claims and Fed chair Janet Yellen speaks at an event in New York. In Australia, the AIG Construction Index dipped to 45.2 points, its fourth straight reading below the 50-level, indicative of ongoing contraction in the contraction industry.
RBA Governor Glenn Stevens weighed in on global currency developments this week, stating that a higher Australian dollar could hamper the economy’s recovery. Stevens hinted that the easing measures taken by other central banks had contributed to the Australian currency’s appreciation. The Aussie has surged 12 percent in the past two months against its US counterpart, to the consternation of the RBA. Will the central bank step in and raise rates next month? It’s certainly a possibility, and one key factor is the quarterly inflation report – if inflation softened in the first quarter, the RBA could feel compelled to take action and lower interest rates.
AUD/USD Fundamentals
Wednesday (April 6)
- 19:30 Australian AIG Construction Index. Actual 45.2 points
Thursday (April 7)
- 8:30 US Unemployment Claims. Estimate 271K
- 10:30 US Natural Gas Storage. Estimate 7B
- 15:00 US Consumer Credit. Estimate 15.0B
- 17:30 US Fed Chair Janet Yellen Speaks
*All release times are DST
AUD/USD for Thursday, April 7, 2016
AUD/USD April 7 at 8:15 DST
Open: 0.7611 Low: 0.7538 High: 0.7521 Close: 0.7530
AUD/USD Technical
| S3 | S2 | S1 | R1 | R2 | R3 |
| 0.7213 | 0.7385 | 0.7472 | 0.7560 | 0.7678 | 0.7796 |
- AUD/USD showed limited movement in the Asian session and has posted sharp losses in European trade
- 0.7472 is providing support
- 0.7560 is a weak resistance line
- Current range: 0.7472 to 0.7560
Further levels in both directions:
- Below: 0.7472, 0.7385 and 0.7213
- Above: 0.7560, 0.7678, 0.7796 and 0.7913
OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio
The AUD/USD ratio is showing little movement on Thursday, despite sharp losses by AUD/USD. Short and long positions are evenly split, indicative of a lack of trader bias as to which direction the pair will take next.