Australian dollar posts slight gains

The Australian dollar is higher for a third straight day. AUD/USD is trading at 0.7145 in the North American session, up 0.37% on the day.

Aussie higher as Omicron jitters ease

The word ‘Omicron’ was causing fear and panic in the markets just two weeks ago, as the newest Covid variant raised fears of a new wave of Covid that might derail the tenous global recovery. Those fears have subsided to a great extent, as the market has suddenly taken a less frenzied view of Omicron, on the basis of data that shows that patients with Omicron have shown milder symptoms than with previous variants. Risk appetite has been on a roller-coaster track – falling sharply when panic set it, only to bounce back now that investors are no longer worried sick that Omicron will take down the global recovery.

Is Omicron really a mild event that we can put in the rearview mirror? It’s too early to tell, but the uncertainty over the newest Covid variant has resulted in significant volatility in the markets. The Australian dollar, a bellwether for risk sentiment, has shown strong volatility – the currency fell by 1.67% last week but has quickly recovered, with gains of 2.12% so far this week. Market participants should be prepared for the Aussie’s volatility to continue as more data is released and health officials learn more about the threat posed by Omicron.

At the RBA policy meeting, the bank cited Omicron as a new source of uncertainty but added that it should not derail the recovery. Omicron has emerged as a convenient crutch for the RBA, which has been looking to dampen market projections of a rate hike, which have been more hawkish than the bank’s guidance. I would expect other central banks that are under pressure to hike but have reservations, such as the BoE, to cite Omicron if they decide not to raise rates.

.

AUD/USD Technical

  • There are support levels at 0.6938 and 0.6875
  • AUD/USD is testing resistance at 0.7118. The next resistance line is 0.7235

Content 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 Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

Kenny Fisher

Kenny Fisher

Market Analyst at OANDA
A highly experienced financial market analyst with a focus on fundamental analysis, Kenneth Fisher’s daily commentary covers a broad range of markets including forex, equities and commodities. His work has been published in several major online financial publications including Investing.com, Seeking Alpha and FXStreet. Based in Israel, Kenny has been a MarketPulse contributor since 2012.