A lesson from the RBA as Aussie dips

The Australian dollar continues to lose ground, having declined for a fourth successive day. Currently, AUD/USD is trading at 0.7329, down 0.18% on the day. The pair could fall into 72-territory as early as today and is trading at its lowest levels since November.

It’s been a rough spell for the Aussie. Traditionally, July is one of the strongest months for the currency, but this July has been dismal, with the currency down 2.44%.

The RBA released its minutes from the July meeting. At the meeting, the RBA trimmed its weekly bond purchases from AUD 5 billion per week to 4 billion per week as of September. The minutes noted that there was intense discussion around the taper, with members acknowledging that a strong argument could be made not to trim, given that the Bank’s targets for inflation and employment had not been met. In the end, policymakers opted to go ahead with the taper. The minutes also reiterated that Bank members did not expect that conditions would warrant a rate hike prior to 2024.

Taper yes, dovish no

Investors and traders take note – the RBA is providing an important lesson for those willing to listen and learn. The Bank went ahead with its trim, which made headlines and sent the Australian dollar higher. However, the gains were short-lived, as the Bank retained its dovish stance even as it tightened policy (modestly) by tapering its QE programme. Investors and traders who snapped up Australian dollars after the RBA taper jumped the gun, because the Australian dollar has largely been on a downswing since the RBA meeting earlier this month. Clearly, a taper does mean that a central bank has changed into a hawk; in the case at hand, the RBA said at its meeting that stimulus would be required and rate hikes were a long way off, even while tapering at the same time.

.

AUD/USD Technical

  • AUD/USD is testing support 0.7319. Below, there is support at 0.7247
  • There is weak resistance at 0.7358, followed by resistance at 0.7541

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar. www.marketpulse.com/economic-event

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 and macroeconomic analysis, Kenny Fisher’s daily commentary covers a broad range of markets including forex, equities and commodities. His work has been published in major online financial publications including Investing.com, Seeking Alpha and FXStreet. Kenny has been a MarketPulse contributor since 2012.