AUD/USD: Australian business spending came in below expectations
Macroeconomic overview
Australian business investment fell a surprisingly large 2.1% last quarter as miners continued their long pullback, but spending bounced in other sectors which also upgraded plans for the coming year or so.
The detail in the data is not as soft as it first appears. The decline in the headline number was concentrated in buildings and structures that particular component is not a driver that goes into the GDP. But the plant and equipment number actually rose, so that is helpful.
The data so far suggest that while economic growth likely did bounce in the fourth quarter after the third quarter's shock contraction, the rise was only modest at best.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics' latest survey estimate of investment for 2016/17 was upgraded to AUD 112 billion, when analysts had looked for a steady outcome around AUD 108 billion.
Technical analysis
The AUD lost some ground after a surprisingly sharp fall in business spending, but remained above 14-day exponential moving average. The overall structure is bullish. 
Trading strategy
We stay long for 0.7750.