For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, AUD weakened 0.31% against the USD to close at 0.8889.
LME Copper prices rose 0.2% or $14.0/MT to $ 7368.0/MT. Aluminium prices advanced 0.2% or $3.5/MT to $1736.5/MT.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 0.8883, with the AUD trading 0.07% lower from yesterday’s close.
This morning, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that retail sales in Australia rose 0.7% in December, the seventh consecutive monthly rise, compared to a 0.5% increase recorded in the previous month. Markets were expecting retail sales to rise 0.4% in December. Meanwhile, the building approvals declined 1.5% in November on a monthly basis, compared to a revised 1.6% decrease recorded in the previous month, thereby raising concerns over the strength of a rebound in housing construction.
Separately, the National Bureau of Statistics of China reported that the consumer price inflation (CPI) in China fell to 2.5% in December on an annual basis, compared to a 3.0% rate recorded in the previous month. Markets were expecting the consumer price inflation to decline to 2.7% in December. Additionally, producer price index in China fell 1.4% (YoY) in December, compared to a similar decline recorded in the previous month.
The pair is expected to find support at 0.8847, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 0.8811. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 0.8936, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 0.8989.
The currency pair is trading below its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.