The Australian dollar is treading water

The Australian dollar meandered its way through Monday’s trading session with US and Chinese markets on holiday.

Here’s the scoreboard as at 7.10am AEDT.

AUD/USD 0.7910 , 0 , 0.00%
AUD/JPY 84.27 , 0.17 , 0.20%
AUD/CNH 4.9875 , 0.0053 , 0.11%
AUD/EUR 0.6374 , -0.0002 , -0.03%
AUD/GBP 0.5647 , 0.0006 , 0.11%
AUD/NZD 1.0730 , 0.0031 , 0.29%
AUD/CAD 0.9938 , 0.0004 , 0.04%

After opening trade at .7910, the AUD/USD hit a session high of .7935 before reversing most of those gains in European trade.

As seen in the five minute chart below, it largely flat-lined in North American trade with US markets closed for the President’s Day holiday.

“It has been fairly quiet with relatively tight ranges though the USD was under a little pressure again yesterday before the sellers re-entered the market,” said Greg McKenna, Chief Market Strategist at AxiTrader.

“The debate over the outlook continues and the week ahead of Treasury issuance and USD price action is likely to be crucial in determining whether we see a hiatus in the selling or another wholesale collapse and under the weight of a lack of confidence in the fiscal outlook.”

With Chinese markets yet again closed for Lunar New Year celebrations, it promises to be a quiet Asian session on Tuesday despite the release of the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) February monetary policy meeting.

As MeKenna explains, given markets have heard so much from RBA officials in recent weeks, it’s debatable just how much new information the minutes will convey.

“There should not be any surprises given the multiple occasions on which the Board, the Governor, and his staff have been able to put their view this month,” he says.

“Traders will still be watching, however, and a rogue headline could move the Aussie dollar a little.”

Outside of the RBA minutes, the regional calendar is quiet, likely ensuring that sentiment and technicals remain in the driving seat in Asia.

Later in the session, markets will receive producer price inflation and ZEW Investor Sentiment from Germany, CBI Industrial Orders in the UK along with Eurozone consumer confidence.

For New Zealand dollar traders, the latest GDT dairy auction will also take place.

There are no major releases scheduled in North America, although several short-dated treasury auctions scheduled.

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