9 Apr 2014
Asia Recap: AUD, NZD keep up stellar performance
FXStreet (Bali) - The Antipodean Dollars were once again the best performers, with the US Dollar still trading on a subdued note.
USD/JPY opened Asia at 101.80, with only a modest 20 pips bounce before 102.00 round area (bottom daily ichimoku cloud) capped the recovery. There was no local Japanese data to report, helping to keep fresh the pleasant memories for JPY bulls, who had a stellar performance after an upbeat BoJ, ruling out further easing for now.
AUD/USD opened near the day highs at 0.9350, on the back of a very bullish Tuesday, in which two key technical levels (0.93, 0.9335/40) were taken out, reinforcing the case for further gains this week. Today, after an initial shallow pullback to 0.9335 (retesting the 38.2% fib retrac Oct-Jan decline), the AUD saw plenty of buying interest absorbing offers with ease. The positive economic releases, which included Westpac consumer sentiment and home loans (especially this one), helped to push the rate into new highs, breaking above light stops at 0.9370 to top out at 0.9386.
NZD/USD continued to expand to the upside, breaking above the critical 0.87 resistance to print a new multi-year high at 0.8707, a level not seen since the peak reached last July 2011. There were no indicators published in New Zealand, with the rally coming on the back of a conglomerate of factors, including 'tracking' AUD gains, broad-based USD weakness, asset moving back into emerging markets (NZD proxy) and carry trade back in fashion.
The rest of G10 currencies traded in small ranges, with no significant movements to report. In Europe, both German and British trade figures will be main events to keep an eye on.
Main headlines in Asia
Will sales drop in Japan force early BoJ action?
Australia Westpac Consumer Confidence increased to 0.3% in April from previous -0.7%
Australia Home Loans came in at 2.3% to beat expectations (2%) in February
USD/JPY opened Asia at 101.80, with only a modest 20 pips bounce before 102.00 round area (bottom daily ichimoku cloud) capped the recovery. There was no local Japanese data to report, helping to keep fresh the pleasant memories for JPY bulls, who had a stellar performance after an upbeat BoJ, ruling out further easing for now.
AUD/USD opened near the day highs at 0.9350, on the back of a very bullish Tuesday, in which two key technical levels (0.93, 0.9335/40) were taken out, reinforcing the case for further gains this week. Today, after an initial shallow pullback to 0.9335 (retesting the 38.2% fib retrac Oct-Jan decline), the AUD saw plenty of buying interest absorbing offers with ease. The positive economic releases, which included Westpac consumer sentiment and home loans (especially this one), helped to push the rate into new highs, breaking above light stops at 0.9370 to top out at 0.9386.
NZD/USD continued to expand to the upside, breaking above the critical 0.87 resistance to print a new multi-year high at 0.8707, a level not seen since the peak reached last July 2011. There were no indicators published in New Zealand, with the rally coming on the back of a conglomerate of factors, including 'tracking' AUD gains, broad-based USD weakness, asset moving back into emerging markets (NZD proxy) and carry trade back in fashion.
The rest of G10 currencies traded in small ranges, with no significant movements to report. In Europe, both German and British trade figures will be main events to keep an eye on.
Main headlines in Asia
Will sales drop in Japan force early BoJ action?
Australia Westpac Consumer Confidence increased to 0.3% in April from previous -0.7%
Australia Home Loans came in at 2.3% to beat expectations (2%) in February