The Australian Dollar (AUD) edges higher against the US Dollar (USD) after the release of the domestic Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) on Thursday. Additionally, the AUD/USD pair gained as the USD weakened slightly, driven by a modest dip in US Treasury yields. 2-year and 10-year yields on US Treasury bonds stand at 4.07% and 4.23%, respectively, at the time of writing.
The AUD could get further support from the prevailing hawkish sentiment surrounding the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), bolstered by the positive employment data. Earlier this week, RBA Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser noted that the labor participation rate is remarkably high and emphasized that while the RBA is data-dependent, it is not data-obsessed.
The US Dollar faced downward pressure following the release of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) Beige Book on Wednesday. The latest report indicated that economic activity was "little changed in nearly all Districts," in contrast to August's report, where three Districts reported growth and nine showed flat activity.
The AUD/USD pair trades around 0.6640 on Thursday. Technical analysis of the daily chart suggests a short-term bearish outlook as the pair remains below the nine-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA). Additionally, the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) is below 50, reinforcing the bearish sentiment.
Regarding support, the AUD/USD pair could retest its two-month low of 0.6614, last seen on Wednesday. The next key support appears at the psychological level of 0.6600.
On the upside, resistance is expected at the nine-day EMA at 0.6680, followed by the 50-day EMA at 0.6728. A break above these levels could open the door for a potential move toward the psychological resistance of 0.6800.
The table below shows the percentage change of Australian Dollar (AUD) against listed major currencies today. Australian Dollar was the strongest against the Swiss Franc.
USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
USD | -0.01% | 0.00% | -0.05% | -0.05% | -0.05% | -0.07% | 0.03% | |
EUR | 0.00% | 0.00% | -0.03% | -0.05% | -0.06% | -0.09% | 0.01% | |
GBP | -0.00% | 0.00% | -0.04% | -0.06% | -0.06% | -0.11% | 0.02% | |
JPY | 0.05% | 0.03% | 0.04% | -0.01% | -0.02% | -0.07% | 0.07% | |
CAD | 0.05% | 0.05% | 0.06% | 0.01% | 0.00% | -0.02% | 0.08% | |
AUD | 0.05% | 0.06% | 0.06% | 0.02% | -0.01% | -0.01% | 0.08% | |
NZD | 0.07% | 0.09% | 0.11% | 0.07% | 0.02% | 0.00% | 0.10% | |
CHF | -0.03% | -0.01% | -0.02% | -0.07% | -0.08% | -0.08% | -0.10% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Australian Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent AUD (base)/USD (quote).
The Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), released on a monthly basis by Judo Bank and S&P Global, is a leading indicator gauging business activity in Australia’s services sector. The data is derived from surveys of senior executives at private-sector companies from the services sector. Survey responses reflect the change, if any, in the current month compared to the previous month and can anticipate changing trends in official data series such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment and inflation. A reading above 50 indicates that the services economy is generally expanding, a bullish sign for the Australian Dollar (AUD). Meanwhile, a reading below 50 signals that activity among service providers is generally declining, which is seen as bearish for AUD.
Read more.Last release: Wed Oct 23, 2024 22:00 (Prel)
Frequency: Monthly
Actual: 50.6
Consensus: -
Previous: 50.5
Source: S&P Global