THE TIPSTER Aussie dollar takes a hit
The Aussie dollar has struggled to make headway against the dollar recently. The currency has been hurt by concerns of a slowdown in the Chinese economy, although the latest Chinese manufacturing data gave the Australian dollar a lift on Monday. The Reserve Bank of Australia kept its cash rate unchanged at 4.25 per cent yesterday, but traders noted a dovish tone from the MPC, suggesting that there could soon be a cut in rates, providing inflation remains subdued. This is keeping downward pressure on the Aussie dollar for now. GFT quotes $1.0396-$1.0398 for Aussie dollar-dollar.
Seemingly regardless of events in Europe, sterling-dollar has sailed higher, as traders look anew at the pound as a safe harbour from the storms affecting the Eurozone. UK economic data might not be showing much sign of improvement, but the ever-present possibility of further quantitative easing in the US means that, for now at least, sterling remains a more attractive bet than the dollar, without the worries of implosion that keep the euro from staging a full recovery. IG Index’s price on sterling-dollar is $1.6005-$1.6006.
Dollar-yen looks to have taken a breather following its impressive spike higher that commenced in February. The recent retracement though looks rather like a bullish flag that might be forming meaning that the ¥82.00 could be a platform for the next move higher. Capital Spreads quotes a price of ¥82.04-¥82.05.
Will the SNB come back in and defend the SFr1.20 peg? It may have to, since the market keeps testing its determination to weaken the Swissie. Expect volatility as we get close to this pivotal level. Forex.com quotes Euro-Swiss franc at SFr1.2034-SFr1.2037
The $1.34 level is still an elusive zone for euro-dollar, with resistance at the $1.3390/$1.3400 level. While well supported by $1.3295/$1.3300, euro-dollar is now trading in a narrowing range. The bias would be to the downside for the single currency with a potential to retest the $1.32 level in the near term. CMC Markets’ price for euro-dollar is $1.33434-$1.33444.