The Australian Dollar is retreating. Overview for 06.02.2017

On Monday, the AUD/USD pair is trading to the downside being influenced by quite mixed statistical reports on the Retail Sales.

The Australian Dollar is falling against the USD on Monday. The current quote for the instrument is 0.7658.

Today, Australia published rather curious statistics on the Retail Sales. The report showed that the indicator lost 0.1% m/m in December after adding 0.1% m/m in the previous month and against expectations of expansion by 0.3% m/m. The components of the report indicate that the reading is seasonally-adjusted. The volume of retails sales also lost 0.1%.

Taking into account that the Retails Sales report is one of the major indicators that describe how healthy the Australian economy is, the overall picture is getting a bit gloomy.

Statistics from China also couldn’t support the Aussie. The Markit/Caixin Services PMI in January was only 53.1 points after being 53.4 points in the previous month and against expectations of 53.6 points. The reading is well above the psychologically-crucial number of 50 points, which separates the decline form the growth, and doesn’t pose a threat to the economy. However, the sentiments in the service industry are slowly getting worse and, as a result, may later reduce the positive momentum to nothing.

Tomorrow morning, the Aussie will have to respond to the RBA Interest Rate decision. Most likely, the rate will remain the same, 1.5%. Investors will be interested in the regulator’s comments in relation to inflation targets and the employment market.

RoboForex Analytical Department