Investing.com - The Australian dollar ended the week higher against its U.S. counterpart on Friday, amid signs that U.S. interest rates will remain on hold for an extended period of time.
AUD/USD hit 0.9455 on Thursday, the pair’s highest since July 2, before subsequently consolidating at 0.9392 by close of trade on Friday, down 0.02% for the day but 0.28% higher for the week.
The pair is likely to find support at 0.9360, the low from July 10 and resistance at 0.9455, the high from July 3.
The U.S. dollar came under pressure earlier in the week, after Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting indicated that interest rates are unlikely to rise soon.
The minutes showed that officials agreed to end the central bank’s asset purchase program in October, but revealed little new information on when rates could start to increase.
Meanwhile, in Australia, official data released Thursday showed that the number of employed people rose by 15,900 in June, above expectations for an increase of 12,000.
The report also showed that Australia's unemployment rate rose to 6.0% last month from 5.9% in May. Analysts had expected the rate to remain unchanged at 5.9% in June.
In the week ahead, investors will be watching testimony on monetary policy by Fed Chair Janet Yellen, as well as key data on U.S. June retail sales.
Market players will also look ahead to a raft of Chinese economic data this week, including reports on second quarter gross domestic product, industrial production and retail sales.
Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of these and other significant events likely to affect the markets. The guide skips Monday as there are no relevant events on this day.
Tuesday, July 15
The Reserve Bank of Australia is to publish the minutes of its latest policy meeting, which contain valuable insights into economic conditions from the bank’s perspective.
The U.S. is to release data on retail sales, the government measure of consumer spending, which accounts for the majority of overall economic activity. The U.S. is also to release data on import prices, business inventories and manufacturing activity in the Empire state.
Wednesday, July 16
China is to publish data on gross domestic product, the broadest indicator of economic activity and the leading measure of the economy’s health. The country is also to publish reports on industrial production and fixed asset investment.
The U.S. is to release reports on producer price inflation and industrial production. Meanwhile, Fed Chair Janet Yellen Carney is to testify on monetary policy to the House financial committee.
Thursday, July 17
Australia is to release private sector data on leading economic indicators and business confidence.
The U.S. to publish reports on initial jobless claims, housing starts, building permits, and the Philly Fed manufacturing index.
Friday, July 18
The U.S. is to round up the week with preliminary data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment.