For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the AUD declined 0.36% against the USD and closed at 0.7169 on Friday.
LME Copper prices rose 1.5% or $89.0/MT to $6022.0/MT. Aluminium prices rose 2.6% or $47.0/MT to $1851.0/MT.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 0.7162, with the AUD trading 0.10% lower against the USD from Friday’s close.
Elsewhere in China, Australia’s largest trading partner, gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to a 28-year low level of 6.4% on a yearly basis in 4Q 2018, meeting market expectations. The GDP had recorded a gain of 6.5% in the prior quarter. Moreover, the nation’s retail sales unexpectedly rose 8.2% on an annual basis in December, compared to an advance of 8.1% in the previous month. Additionally, the nation’s industrial production climbed 5.7% on a yearly basis in December, surpassing market expectations for an increase of 5.3%. In the prior month, industrial production had registered a rise of 6.3%.
The pair is expected to find support at 0.7137, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 0.7111. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 0.7201, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 0.7239.
The currency pair is trading below its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.