Daily Currency Update
AUD - Australian DollarThe Australian Dollar opens lower again this morning oscillating around the 0.7050 handle. With liquidity thinner than normal ahead of the Christmas holiday, the risk off mood continued to drag the Aussie lower on Monday as concerns continue to grow over the new COVID-19 strain detected in the UK. There was also further broad based USD strength as Brexit negotiations continued to falter, seeing large flows out of GBP and into the safe haven USD. We are set for a very quiet day on the data front. The sole release of interest for Australian Dollar trades is the release of preliminary Australian trade data for the month of November by the Australian Bureau of statistics. Having touched intraday lows of 0.7517 overnight, this now acts as our first level of support; however, a break below this handle could open the door for a retreat back to previous lows of 0.7460. On the topside, we still see resistance on moves approaching 0.76, whilst further resistance is also seen at 0.7640.
Key Movers
Brexit headlines were once again front of centre for financial markets overnight as hopes that UK and EU lawmakers could reach a deal were dashed. Michael Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, confirmed that the fisheries issue continues to be the main stumbling block in trade talks with the UK. The news sees GBP/USD stuck around the 1.3350 level whilst EUR/USD has slipped below 1.2200 to trade around 1.2150. As we predicted in yesterday's commentary, the $900b US COVID-19 relief package was passed by the US congress late on Monday. It now just needs to be signed off by United States President Donald Trump before the cheques are set to go out.
Expected Ranges
- AUD/USD: 0.7480 - 0.7600 ▼
- GBP/AUD: 1.7620 - 1.7900 ▼
- AUD/NZD: 1.0640 - 1.0720 ▲
- AUD/EUR: 0.6150 - 0.6230 ▲
- AUD/CAD: 0.9660 - 0.9760 ▲