AUD/USD challenges monthly top above 0.7300 after RBA minutes
- AUD/USD takes the bids near one week high, also the highest since mid-September.
- RBA minutes reiterate no to negative rates, showing readiness for further stimulus.
- Risk remains positive amid Brexit, vaccine hopes, light calendar.
- RBA’s Debelle, risk headlines will be the key to watch ahead of the US retail Sales.
AUD/USD rises to the fresh one-week high of 0.7330, currently up 0.10% intraday around 0.7327, amid Tuesday’s Asian session. The pair recently benefited from the RBA’s bullish bias, as conveyed via minutes of the latest monetary policy. Also favoring the pair buyers could be the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine hopes and positive chatters concerning Brexit.
RBA minutes defy negative rates…
Despite offering a new tool for cheap credit and adding to the Quantitative Easing (QE), RBA policymakers stay away from the negative interest rates. The latest monetary policy meeting minutes suggest the policymaker’s readiness to offer further easy money while turning down any more immediate rate cuts and a clear ‘NO’ to the negative rates.
Read: RBA Minutes: Ready to provide yet more policy stimulus
Not only the RBA minutes but global market optimism concerning the COVID-19 vaccine and Brexit also favor the bulls. After Moderna’s vaccine trial update, Johnson & Johnson also mentioned beginning the late-stage testing of its two-dose vaccine.
Elsewhere, The Sun came out with the news suggesting that the UK’s Chief Brexit Negotiator David Frost indicates the Brexit trade deal between the European Union (EU) and Britain during the early next week.
Against this backdrop, S&P 500 Futures drop 0.10% but stocks in Asia-Pacific remain mostly positive by press time.
Looking forward, updates concerning the covid vaccine and the virus news can offer fresh direction to the AUD/USD traders ahead of the speech from RBA Assistant Governor (Financial Markets) Guy Debelle. Following that, the US Retail Sales for October, expected 0.5% MoM versus 1.9% prior, will be important to follow.
Technical analysis
AUD/USD bulls target the 0.7340/45 resistance area, comprising the tops marked since the mid-September, for now, a break of which will highlight the August 31 high near 0.7415. Alternatively, the 0.7300 round-figure and the previous month’s peak surrounding 0.7245/40 can offer short-term support during the pair’s corrective pullback.