AUD/USD: Better bid despite weak rebound in Aussie retail sales

• AUD/USD is keeping gains  despite the weaker-than-expected Aussie retail sales data.  
• The pair may extend gains on dovish Federal Reserve expectations.  
• RBA’s Financial Stability Report cites  housing market as key risk to economy.  

AUD/USD is keeping gains despite the weaker-than-expected Aussie macro data released soon before press time

Consumer spending, as represented by August retail sales, came in at 0.4%, narrowly missing the expected 0.5% rise, having dropped by 0.1% in August, the Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed.  

So far, the weaker-than-expected rebound in retail sales has not had any negative impact on the Aussie dollar. As of writing, the AUD/USD pair is trading around 0.6750 – don just five pips from the session high of 0.6756 seen before the retail sales release.  

Aussie’s resilience could be associated with the increased odds of an October Federal Reserve rate cut.  

Also, Reserve Bank of Australia’s Financial Stability Review, also released at 01:30 GMT, offered little negative surprises. The report cited housing market, uptick in the jobless rate and the slowdown in the income growth as key risks to Australia’s economy. All these negatives are generally accepted and priced in by now.  

Looking ahead, the AUD/USD pair may continue to rise, having charted a bullish Doji reversal pattern on the daily chart earlier this week. Also, the dovish Fed expectations will likely keep the pair better bid.  

Technical levels