AUD/USD drifting towards 0.75 as Business Conditions pop but job ads sink
- Aussie business conditions index hits 21, a historical high.
- Sluggish housing numbers are giving traders some warning flags.
The AUD/USD has ticked lower in early Monday trading and is backing into 0.7525.
NAB business conditions index hits record high in April
The National Australia Bank (NAB) released their Business Conditions and Business Confidence surveys today, showing that the Business Confidence index rose to 10, a high reading for the indicator, while the Business Conditions survey also increased by six points to 21, an index high since coming into existence in 1997. On the other side of the data, ANZ's Job Advertisements measure fell by -0.2%, an accelerated decline from the previous reading of -0.1%. The Aussie did little more than wiggle on reaction, but the mixed figures give traders something to mull over heading into the week's action.
Business confidence is bumping higher, but things are looking darker elsewhere in Australia, with Westpac's CEO recently trying to smooth investor concerns that a continued downturn in the Australian housing market could put a dent in banks' balance sheets, while the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is expected to stand pat on interest rates until sometime next year, leaving the AUD exposed to a widening rate differential against the US Greenback.
Westpac CEO: Australian housing in an "orderly slowdown"
The rest of the week remains a quiet affair for the Australia session with limited data on the calendar, and the focus for this week will be US CPI figures later in the week.
AUDUSD: The longer term charts remains heavy
AUD/USD Levels to watch
FXStreet's Valeria Bednarik on the Aussie's bearish-tilting technical outlook: "technically, the latest recovery has been capped by selling interest around the 23.6% retracement of the latest daily slump at around 0.7550, the level to surpass to confirm further recoveries ahead. Daily basis, however, the pair retains its bearish stance as it's developing well below a bearish 20 SMA, which converges with the 50% retracement of the mentioned slump, while technical indicators barely corrected extreme oversold readings before losing upward strength."
Support levels: 0.7500 0.7470 0.7430
Resistance levels: 0.7550 0.7590 0.7620