For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the AUD rose 0.59% against the USD and closed at 0.7160.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), in its interest rate decision, left its key interest rate unchanged at 0.25%, as expected. Moreover, the RBA expects economic activity to decline by 6% in 2020. Also, it is confident that inflation rate will remain below the target of 2.0%, but the outlook for economic recovery remained “highly uncertain. Meanwhile, RBA Governor Philip Lowe stated that the downturn was not as severe as the bank originally feared but it was still going to be “uneven and bumpy”, with the coronavirus outbreak in Victoria having a major impact.
LME Copper prices marginally declined to $6,440.0/MT. Aluminium prices rose 1.8% or $30.0/MT to $1,709.5/MT.
In the Asian session, at GMT0300, the pair is trading at 0.7189, with the AUD trading 0.41% higher against the USD from yesterday’s close.
Overnight data showed that Australia’s AiG performance of construction index climbed to 42.7 in July, compared to a reading of 35.5 in the previous month. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Bank services PMI unexpectedly fell to 58.2 in July, compared to a level of 58.5 in the previous month.
Elsewhere, in China, Australia’s largest trading partner, the Caixin services PMI declined more-than-expected to 54.1 in July, compared to a level of 58.4 in the previous month.
The pair is expected to find support at 0.7139, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 0.7090. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 0.7214, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 0.7240.
The currency pair is trading above its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.
