AUD/USD ranges edging a little higher - Westpac

Sean Callow, Research Analyst at Westpac, notes that AUD/USD ranges edged a little higher over the past week, including the first probes above 0.80 since 1 Aug.

Key Quotes

“Commodity prices remain supportive, with our Australian export price basket rising modestly again this week to another high since May.”

“The flurry of domestic data was not overly supportive, with the weakness of wages holding back the consumer in Q2 GDP and July retail sales stalling. This won’t change soon though the RBA made clear this week that they see swift job creation continuing and believe wages growth will eventually follow.”

“The likely US budget and debt ceiling deal should help USD but also risk appetite near term. If the deal is completed, this should leave AUD/USD spending most of its time in the upper end of a range of say low 0.79s to 0.8050. Heavy long positioning (see chart) remains a background warning for AUD bulls.”