- RBA keeps the policy rate unchanged as expected.
- New York Fed President Williams’ comments help USD gather strength.
- US Dollar Index stays below the 97 handle.
The AUD/USD pair extended its gains during the first half of the day and touched its highest level in nearly three months at 0.7393 before losing its momentum in the NA session. As of writing, the pair was virtually unchanged on the day at 0.7355.
Earlier today, the RBA decided to leave its policy rate unchanged at 1.5% as expected. Commenting on the bank’s policy statement, “On the currency, the RBA changed language slightly. The “Australian dollar remains within the range that it has been in over the past two years on a trade-weighted basis”, although having risen 2% since the last meeting, the currency is no longer described as being in the lower part of the range as it was in November,” Westpac analysts said.
During the early trading hours of the NA session, New York Fed President Williams said that he would continue to support further gradual rate hikes and added that the labour market was ‘incredibly strong,’ to provide a boost to the US Dollar Index, which fell to 96.40 in the European morning. As of writing, the index was down only 0.05% on the day at 96.90.
AUD/USD technical outlook
AUD/USD Technical Analysis: Consolidates before the next leg of up-move towards 200-day SMA.
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