AUD – Australian Dollar
The Aussie dollar ended another week with strong gains above 0.74 a cent, hitting a 28-month high, against the greenback. The Australian dollar traded between 0.7340 and 0.7448 last week, driven by a positive change in risk demand, in hopes of a vaccine. Looking ahead this week and Monday, RBA Governor Philip Lowe will deliver a speech titled “Innovation and Regulation in Australia’s Payments System” at a webinar hosted by the Australian Payments Network. On the data front, we’ll see the release of the Australian Industry Group (AIG) Services Performance Index and monthly ANZ job announcements. On Tuesday we will see the release of the Quarterly House Price Index (HPI) and the NAB’s monthly Business Confidence Survey. Finally, on Wednesday, all eyes will be on the Westpac Consumer Sentiment survey. China will release its November trade balance and inflation data for the same month. From a technical standpoint, the AUD / USD pair is currently trading at 0.7392. We continue to expect support to hold on movements approaching 0.7370 as now any upward push will likely meet resistance around 0.7440.
Key movers
The greenback fell from its 2-1 / 2 year low on Friday as negotiators in the European Union and the United Kingdom decided to suspend negotiations, after failing to narrow the differences enough to achieve a trade deal, for a post-Brexit trade deal. As a result, the British pound fell 0.2% against the greenback to $ 1.3424. The greenback, however, still posted its worst week in a month after investors ignored a weaker-than-expected US employment report and bullish COVID-19 vaccine announcements contributed to a rally in riskier currencies. at the expense of the safe haven dollar. On Friday, we saw the release of the US non-farm payroll increase by 245,000 jobs last month after rising 610,000 in October. It was the smallest gain since the recovery in employment began in May. The United States has a fairly light schedule this week, as the country will release the preliminary estimate of the Michigan Consumer Confidence Index for December and final readings of its November inflation figures.
Expected beaches
AUD / USD: 0.7370 – 0.7460 ▲
AUD / EUR: 0.6060 – 0.6160 ▲
GBP / AUD: 1.7850 – 1.8050 ▼
AUD / NZD: 1.0420 – 1.0550 ▲
AUD / CAD: 0.9500 – 0.9600 ▲