AUDUSD Movement
For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, AUD strengthened 0.18% against the USD to close at 1.0456, as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) kept its cash rate at a record-matching low of 3.0% as expected. However, the central bank left open the possibility of more rate cuts if the economy failed to respond to past monetary stimulus.
LME Copper prices declined 2.0% or $148.0/MT to $7434.5/MT. Aluminium prices declined 1.0% or $19.5/MT to $1862.0/MT.
In the Asian session, at GMT0300, the pair is trading at 1.0454, with the AUD trading marginally lower from yesterday’s close.
In economic news, the seasonally adjusted merchandise trade deficit in Australia narrowed to A$178.0 million in February, compared to a revised A$1,215.0 million deficit reported in the previous month. However, new home sales dropped 5.3% (MoM) in February, compared to a 4.2% rise reported in January.
Separately, in China, the official non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to a reading of 55.6 in March, compared to a reading of 54.5 posted in the previous month. Additionally, the HSBC services PMI advanced to a reading of 54.3 in March, compared to a reading of 52.1 recorded in February.
The pair is expected to find support at 1.0435, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.0416. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.0477, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.0500.
The currency pair is trading between its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.
