With the release of the minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest policy meeting looming and the odds of the central bank slashing rates significantly reduced by recent positive data, the ‘Aussie’ is in line for a weekly gain against the US Dollar of 1.3 per cent – the most significant increase for six months.
The Australian Dollar exchange rate was trading in the region of 1.0370 against the US Dollar as of 09:36 am GMT
The Australian Dollar received a significant boost from a surprisingly impressive employment surge in the South Pacific nation. The 71,500 surge in employment in February was the largest gain since July 2000 and greatly exceeded economist’s expectations. In the aftermath of the release the ‘Aussie’ climbed to a five-week high against its American counterpart and it continues to trade in the region of 1.0350.
In response to the news research analyst Chris Tedder commented: ‘The data all but eliminates the case for a rate cut by the RBA in the near term.’
The RBA will release the minutes of their latest policy meeting, at which they held rates at their previous level, on March 19th.
Other economic news which could impact the ‘Aussie’ in the week ahead includes the nation’s Westpac Leading Index and Conference Board Leading Index.
Data releases from China, one of Australia’s main trading partners, will also be of interest. Particular volatility could be triggered by Thursday’s HSBC Flash Manufacturing PMI for March. Earlier this week the Australian Dollar lost ground after the publication of weaker-than-forecast industrial production figures. If next week’s manufacturing data also disappoints concerns of a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy could see the ‘Aussie’ shed its recent gains.
Comments are closed.