“¢ Disappointing Aussie GDP print prompts some aggressive selling.
“¢ A follow-through USD uptick exerts additional downward pressure.
“¢ Risk-off mood does little to lend support to perceived riskier currencies.
The AUD/USD pair held on the dismal Aussie macro data-led weakness and remained heavily offered near weekly lows, just below the 0.7300 handle.
The pair extended overnight rejection slide from the 0.7400 neighborhood and came under some intense selling pressure in reaction to the disappointing release of Australian GDP growth figures.
Data released this Wednesday showed that the economy grew by 0.3% q/q in the third quarter of 2018, significantly lower from 0.9% growth in Q2 and missing consensus estimates by a wide margin.
Meanwhile, the annualized growth rate also dropped to 2.8% from the previous quarter’s reading of 3.4%, which coupled with a follow-through US Dollar uptick further collaborated to the pair’s offered tone.
Hawkish comments by New York Fed President Williams helped ease the recent bearish pressure surrounding the USD, which was further supported by the global flight to safety amid a slump in the US equity market.
It would now be interesting to see if the pair is able to find any buying interest at lower levels or the ongoing slide marks the end of the recent up-move amid fading optimism over the US-China trade truce.
Technical levels to watch
Immediate support is pegged near the 0.7265-60 region, below which the pair is likely to extend the slide further towards the 0.7210-0.7200 area. On the flip side, the 0.7315-20 region now becomes immediate resistance, which if cleared could assist the pair to make a fresh attempt towards conquering the 0.7400 handle.
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