AUD/USD – Aussie Kicks Off Week With Slight Losses

AUD/USD has posted slight losses on Monday, as the pair trades just above the 0.78 line on Monday. On the release front, US Existing Home Sales was down sharply, dipping to 4.82 million. There are no Australian releases on Monday.

US releases started the week on a sour note, as Existing Home Sales slipped to 4.82 million in January, well off the estimate of 5.03 million. This marked a 9-month low for the key indicator. We’ll get a look at New Home Sales on Wednesday. Late last week, US key numbers were mixed. Unemployment Claims rebounded strongly with a sharp drop of 283 thousand, compared to 304 thousand a week earlier. This easily beat the estimate of 293 thousand. The news was not as good from the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index, which slipped to 5.2 points, down from 5.3 points and a third straight drop. The markets had expected a reading of 8.8 points.

AUD/USD for Monday, February 23, 2015

AUD/USD February 23 at 14:50 GMT

AUD/USD 0.7804 H: 0.7845 L: 0.7781

AUD/USD Technical

• AUD/USD was flat in the Asian session. The pair lost ground in European trade, testing support at 0.7904. AUD/USD is unchanged early in the North American session.
• 0.7904 is an immediate resistance line.
• On the downside, 0.7799 is a weak support level. 0.7684 is stronger.
• Current range: 0.7799 to 0.7904

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 0.7799, 0.7684, 0.7582, 0.7403 and 0.7265
• Above: 0.7904, 0.8081, 0.8150 and 0.8214

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

AUD/USD ratio is pointing to gains in long positions on Monday.  This is not consistent with the pair’s movement, as the pair has posted slight losses. The ratio has a majority of long positions, indicative of trader bias towards the Australian dollar reversing course and moving higher.

AUD/USD Fundamentals

• 15:00 US Existing Home Sales. Estimate 5.03M. Actual 4.82M.

*Key releases are highlighted in bold

*All release times are GMT

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.