AUD/USD – Aussie Subdued at 73, US Housing Report Disappoints

The Australian dollar is unchanged on Wednesday, as AUD/USD trades at 0.7290 in the North American session. On the economic front, US Pending Home Sales was unexpectedly soft, posting a decline of 0.9%. There was better news from Crude Oil Inventories, which rebounded sharply with a surplus of 2.6 million. There are no Australian releases on Wednesday, but we’ll get a look at Private Sector Credit, a minor event, early on Thursday. This is the only Australian release this week, so US indicators will have a magnified effect on the movement of AUD/USD during the week. Given the paucity of economic indicators this week and thin liquidity in the markets during the holidays, we could see some choppiness from the pair for the remainder of the week.

CB Consumer Confidence sparkled in December, as the key indicator jumped to 96.5 points, up sharply from 90.4 points a month earlier. This easily beat the estimate of 93.9 points. This follows a solid UoM Consumer Sentiment, which improved to 92.6 points, above the forecast of 92.1 points and marking a 4-month high. Consumer confidence indicators are closely monitored by analysts, as stronger consumer confidence often translates into increased consumer spending, a key driver of economic growth. Strong consumer demand has been an important component in the US recovery, as the economy enters the New Year in solid shape, which bodes well for the US dollar.

AUD/USD Fundamentals

Wednesday (Dec. 30)

• 15:00 US Pending Home Sales. Estimate +0.6%. Actual -0.9%
• 15:30 US Crude Oil Inventories. Estimate -1.8M. Actual +2.6M

Thursday (Dec. 31)

00:30 Australian Private Sector Credit. Estimate 0.6%

*Key releases are highlighted in bold

*All release times are GMT

AUD/USD for Wednesday, December 30, 2015

AUD/USD December 30 at 16:00 GMT

AUD/USD 0.7288 H: 07303 L: 0.7270

AUD/USD Technical

• AUD/USD has been marked by choppy movement throughout the day
• 0.7213 is providing support
• There is resistance at 0.7349
• Current range: 0.7213 to 0.7349

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 0.7213, 0.7100, 0.7063 and 0.6931
• Above: 0.7349, 0.7440 and 0.7526

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

AUD/USD ratio is close to an even split between long and short positions, indicative of a lack of trader bias as to which direction the pair will head next.

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.