AUD/USD – Aussie Stable Ahead of Yellen Testimony

AUD/USD has posted slight losses on Tuesday, as the pair trades in the mid-0.77 range. On the release front, US Existing Home Sales was down sharply, dipping to 4.82 million. There are no Australian releases on Tuesday. In the US, Federal Reserve head Janet Yellen will testify before the Senate Banking Committee. As well, we’ll get a look at the CB Consumer Confidence report. The markets are expecting a strong reading, with a forecast of 99.6 points.

The markets will be keeping a close eye on Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, who testifies before the Senate Banking Committee later on Tuesday. Last week’s Fed minutes were dovish in stance, as policymakers expressed concern about a mid-year rate hike hurting the US recovery. Will Yellen provide any hints about the timing of a rate hike? If she does, we could see some movement from AUD/USD.

US releases started the week on a sour note, as Existing Home Sales slipped to 4.82 million in January, well off the estimate of 5.03 million. This marked a 9-month low for the key indicator. We’ll get a look at New Home Sales on Wednesday. Late last week, US key numbers were mixed. Unemployment Claims rebounded strongly with a sharp drop of 283 thousand, compared to 304 thousand a week earlier. This easily beat the estimate of 293 thousand. The news was not as good from the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index, which slipped to 5.2 points, down from 6.3 points and a third straight drop. The markets had expected a reading of 8.8 points.

AUD/USD for Tuesday, February 24, 2015

AUD/USD February 24 at 13:55 GMT

AUD/USD 0.7766 H: 0.7807 L: 0.7739

AUD/USD Technical

• AUD/USD lost ground in the Asian session. The pair posted losses early in European trade but has since recovered. AUD/USD is unchanged early in the North American session.
• 0.7684 is an immediate support level.
• 0.7799 is a weak resistance line. 0.7904 is stronger.
• Current range: 0.7684 to 0.7799

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 0.7684, 0.7582, 0.7403 and 0.7265
• Above: 0.7779, 0.7904, 0.8081, 0.8150 and 0.8214

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

AUD/USD ratio is almost unchanged on Tuesday. This is consistent with the limited movement we’re seeing from the pair. The ratio has a majority of long positions, indicative of trader bias towards the Australian dollar moving higher.

AUD/USD Fundamentals

• 14:00 US S&P/Composite-20 HPI. Estimate 4.5%.
• 14:45 US Flash Services PMI. Estimate 54.5 points.
• 15:00 US CB Consumer Confidence. Estimate 99.6 points.
• 15:00 US Federal Reserve Janet Yellen Testifies.
• 15:00 US Richmond Manufacturing Index. Estimate 7 points.

*Key releases are highlighted in bold

*All release times are GMT

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.