‘The Aussie dollar shrugged off this weekend’s softer Chinese industrial production and retail sales reports but it may not be able to ignore dovish RBA minutes.’
The Aussie dollar has edged lower despite a rally in global oil prices.
At 0700 AEST on Tuesday, the local unit was trading at 72.89 US cents, down from 72.95 cents on Monday.
Westpac strategist Imre Speizer said an overnight reversal in sentiment drove shares and commodities up.
Brent crude is up 2.6%, soaring past a seven-month high.
The Aussie dollar got a short-lived boost but has since given back those gains.
BK Asset Management managing director of FX strategy Kathy Lien says investors will comb through the Reserve Bank’s May board meeting minutes for hints on additional easing on Tuesday.
‘The Aussie dollar shrugged off this weekend’s softer (Chinese) industrial production and retail sales reports but it may not be able to ignore dovish RBA minutes,’ she said.
‘When the Reserve Bank last met this month, they surprised the market with a quarter point rate cut that sent the Australian dollar to its lowest level in five weeks.’
At 7am on Tuesday, 17 May one Aussie dollar was buying:
72.89 US cents, from 72.95 cents on Monday*
79.47 Japanese yen, from 79.32 yen
64.38 euro cents, from 64.47 euro cents
107.33 New Zealand cents, from 107.53 NZ cents
50.61 British pence, from 50.78 pence
*Currency closes taken at 1700 AEST previous local session
AAP
