Technical - AUD/USD struggling with resistance at 0.9180/85

Australian Dollar's rally from 0.9000 low last Friday, failed at 0.9210/15 aream , and the pair retreated yesterday to 0.9130. The Aussie has attempted recovery since although remains capped at 0.9180/85 area, while upside pressure eases.

In case of breaching 0.9180/85 (session high), next resistance levels lie at 0.9215 (Mar 30 high) and then 0.9250 (Mar 17 high).  On the downside, support levels lie at 0.9130 (Mar 31 low), and below here, 0.9065 (Mar 24 low) and 0.9000 (Mar 25 low).

Australian dollar lower following worse than expected retail sales & building data

from MoneyTrading.com.au

The Australian dollar lost its ground after worse than expected retail sales and building approvals data. Today’s data could potentially reduce the chances of an interest rate rise next week. Australian dollar was trading at 91.64 US cents, down from 92.06 US cents just before the data was released.

Australian retail trade at current prices fell 1.4 per cent in February to a seasonally adjusted $19.828 billion, from a downwardly revised $20.118 billion in January, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. The median market forecast was for retail sales to have risen by 0.3 per cent in February.

Australian building approvals fell 3.3 per cent to 13,929 units in February, seasonally adjusted, from an upwardly revised 14,405 units in January, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said today.

NAB: Australian dollar to equal the greenback

from MoneyTrading.com.au

Australian dollar will trade level with the US dollar in as little as three months, according to National Australia Bank, which said higher interest rates and commodity prices will lead to a sharp appreciation in the currency.

The bank said soaring prices for iron ore and coal would speed up the pace of economic growth and force the Reserve Bank of Australia to intervene with aggressive rate rises to prevent the re-emergence of inflation, The Australian Financial Review reports.

The Australian dollar rose as high as US93¢ in January but has since slipped back to around US90.5¢.

But NAB said the increasingly upbeat outlook for the economy and the prospect of rising interest rates would lift the currency to parity with the US dollar in three to six months.

The upbeat forecast matches a similar call by JPMorgan, which predicts the currency can trade equal with the US dollar within months.

RBA, China boosts Australian dollar

from MoneyTrading.com.au

The Australian dollar advanced on Monday after the Reserve Bank of Australia sounded a hawkish warning over interest rates. Glenn Stevens, RBA governor, said Australian interest rates had been too low and warned it would not be ”wise to leave interest rates down at rock bottom” any longer than was necessary. Underlining the RBA’s growing discomfort with rising house prices, Mr Stevens warned people against thinking they could get rich by speculating on rising property prices.


The comments heightened expectations that the RBA would raise interest rates further at its policy meeting on April 6. The central bank has raised rates four times since October, taking its main lending rate to 4 per cent.

Also boosting the Australian dollar and other commodity-linked currencies, were bullish comments from Yu Bin, a Chinese government economist, who said growth in China could be as high as 12 per cent in the first quarter