Australian retail sales rose 0.5% in December in line with expectations although the ex inflation quarterly increase was lower than forecast at 0.9%. However, there was a revision higher to the previous quarter. The bigger news is that the December trade balance came in much better than expected, recording a surplus of AUD 468 million compared to a deficit of AUD 200 million expected. Business confidence also came in strong rising to 8 in Q4 from an upwardly revised reading of 5 in Q3. The data bodes well for AUD, with the currency set to find further support in the short term. If anything, it also helps to validate the RBA’s message that the easing cycle is over. A break above AUD/USD 0.90 is now on the cards.
MarketWatch.com – MarketPulse- : Sergey Brin and other billionaires subpoenaed in JPMorgan-Epstein lawsuit: report
- : Trump to surrender Tuesday morning before court appearance: report
- : U.S. stocks end Friday higher, Nasdaq posts best quarter since 2020
- : Four more state AGs join lawsuit against JetBlue-Spirit merger
- : Micron stock slumps as China launches cybersecurity review, but company says it stands by its product security
- : Google isn’t done with cost cutting, CFO warns: report
- : U.S. oil futures down 5 months in a row; natural-gas futures drop 50% for the quarter
- : Google AI researcher resigns after learning Bard uses data from ChatGPT: report
- : Cano Health stock plunges toward record low after 3 directors resigned amid concerns over CEO Hernandez’s leadership
- : Gold futures settle higher for the month and quarter
AUD rallies on firm data
February 6, 2014 — Mitul KotechaShare this blog
ECONOMETER 
Leave a Reply