Aussie dollar trading below US$0.65
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Daily Currency Update
The Australian dollar is slightly stronger this morning when valued against the Greenback currently trading at 0.6453 at time of writing. The AUD/USD pair rose by 0.20% in Friday's session. The Australian dollar staged a comeback as the US dollar Index pulled back from its yearly highs. However, the Aussie dollar may face challenges due to recent weak domestic and Chinese economic data. China’s Retail Sales rose 4.8% year-over-year in October, surpassing the expected 3.8% and the 3.2% increase seen in September. Meanwhile, the country’s Industrial Production grew by 5.3% YoY, slightly below the forecasted 5.6% but higher than the 5.4% growth recorded in the previous period. Last week Australia's unemployment rate remained steady in October, at 4.1 per cent, as the number of employed people increased by 15,900, in seasonally adjusted terms. But economists say the pace of employment growth was noticeably slower last month than in previous months, and it may be the start of a slowing trend. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is forecasting the unemployment rate to creep up to 4.3 per cent by the end of this year, and a slowdown in the pace of employment growth would be in line with those forecasts. Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data show the number of people in full-time employment increased by 9,700 in October, while part-time employment increased by 6,200, in seasonally adjusted terms. It brought the total growth in employment to 15,900. In September, employment increased by 61,300. In August, it rose by 45,800. In July, it rose by 49,400. In June, it rose by 48,500. Looking ahead this week and on Tuesday the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will release the Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes a detailed record of the RBA Reserve Bank Board's most recent meeting, providing in-depth insights into the economic conditions that influenced their decision on where to set interest rates.Key Movers
The US dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the US dollar's performance against six major currencies, has pulled back from its yearly high of 107.06 recorded on Thursday. This decline is attributed to a slowdown in "Trump trades." At the time of writing, the DXY trades near 106.50. U.S. retail sales increased slightly more than expected in October as households boosted purchases of motor vehicles and electronic goods, suggesting the economy kicked off the fourth quarter on a strong note. The fairly upbeat sales report on Friday, which was accompanied by sharp upward revisions to September's data, together with news of a rebound in import prices last month, prompted traders to pare back expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates in December. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Thursday "the economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates." Retail sales rose 0.4% last month after an upwardly revised 0.8% advance in September, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales, which are mostly goods and are not adjusted for inflation, would climb 0.3% after a previously reported 0.4% gain in September. Stocks fell Friday, putting major indexes in the red for the week as the election-fueled rally that took stocks to a series of record highs fizzled. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.7%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq lost 1.3% and 2.2%, respectively. All three indexes lost ground this week. The Dow declined 1.2%, while the S&P and Nasdaq each recorded their biggest weekly declines since September after shedding 2.1%, and 3.2%, respectively.Expected Ranges
- AUD/USD: 0.6350 - 0.6550 ▼
- AUD/EUR: 0.6000 - 0.6200 ▼
- GBP/AUD: 1.9250 - 1.9450 ▲
- AUD/NZD: 1.0850 - 1.1050 ▼
- AUD/CAD: 0.8950 - 0.9150 ▲