Who else is watching AUD/USD’s downtrend?
If you are, then you’ll know that the pair just got rejected at a trend line resistance!
Before moving on, ICYMI, yesterday’s watchlist checked out AUD/JPY breaking below a triangle pattern. Be sure to check out if it’s still a valid play!
And now for the headlines that rocked the markets in the last trading sessions:
Fresh Market Headlines & Economic Data:
NAHB housing market index dips from 79 to 77, down for the fourth month in April
Fed’s Bullard wants to get rates up to 3.5% by year end
Zelensky: Russia’s offensive on eastern Ukraine has begun
RBNZ Gov. Orr: “We expect to be doing more rate rises over coming quarters”
BusinessNZ: NZ services sector climbed from 48.9 to expansion territory (51.6) in March
RBA minutes: Higher inflation and wage growth have “brought forward” the timing of first rate hike
Asian stocks in defensive mood as China slowdown, rate hikes loom
Oil volatile as Libya outage fuels supply woes, Shanghai prepares to reopen
European shares fall as Ukraine crisis, Fed tightening worries weigh
Upcoming Potential Catalysts on the Forex Economic Calendar:
Canada’s housing starts at 12:15 pm GMT
U.S. housing starts and building permits at 12:30 pm GMT
SNB Chairman Jordan to make a speech in DC at 4:30 pm GMT
Japan’s trade balance at 11:50 pm GMT
AU MI leading index at 12:30 am GMT (Apr 20)
Use our new Currency Heat Map to quickly see a visual overview of the forex market’s price action! 🔥 🗺️
What to Watch: AUD/USD
We didn’t see a lot of top-tier economic releases during the Asian session, but high-yielding bets like AUD found demand from traders coming back from their extended weekends and the PBoC pledging to support the economy further.
AUD/USD’s intraday rally stopped at .7400, however, as traders began to price in an uber hawkish Fed, Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine, and China reporting more COVID-related deaths in Shanghai.
It also didn’t help that AUD/USD was knocking on the 1-hour chart’s 100 SMA and a trend line resistance that had been holding since early April.
Focus on bearish headlines could extend AUD/USD’s downtrend and drag the pair to its April lows or new monthly lows.
If European and U.S. traders returning from their extended weekend translates to risk-taking, though, then AUD/USD could break above the trend line and revisit previous areas of interest like .7475 or .7515.
What do you think? Which way will AUD/USD go today?
