AUD/USD holds above 0.6500, eyes on RBA Minutes
- AUD/USD holds positive ground above 0.6500 in early Monday.
- US housing starts rose 1.9% MoM versus 3.1% prior, Building Permits climbed 1.1% versus -4.5% prior.
- All eyes are on the RBA Meeting Minutes, FOMC Minutes.
The AUD/USD pair holds above 0.6500 during the early Asian session on Monday. Meanwhile, the US dollar Index (DXY) posts its worst weekly decline since mid-July, hovering around 103.80. That being said, a weaker USD and lower US Treasury bond yields might lend some support to the pair this week. At the press time, the pair is trading at 0.6513, unchanged for the day.
On Friday, the US Housing Starts and Building Permits for October data came in stronger than expected. Housing Starts rose 1.9% MoM to 1.372M while Building Permits climbed 1.1% to 1.487M. The readings suggested that the residential construction sector may be finding a base.
Boston Federal Reserve (Fed) President Susan Collins said on Friday that she expressed optimism that the central bank can lower inflation without causing significant damage to the labor market by being “patient” with any further interest rate moves. Fed President Austan Goolsbee said that he felt inflation is on track toward the Fed’s target, as long as housing price pressures ease, which he expects.
Additionally, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes on Tuesday will offer some hints about the improvement in inflation and provide light on how much impact rising bond rates had on the Fed’s decision to hold still at that meeting.
On the Aussie front, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Assistant Governor Marion Kohler said inflation will continue to decline but won’t reach the top end of the RBA’s 2%-3% target until the end of 2025. The RBA raised the interest rate last week to a 12-year high of 4.35% due to inflation was not lower quickly enough. The market anticipates that RBA is likely to hike again in the first half of 2024.
There will be no data release from the Australian docket on Monday. Market players await the RBA Meeting Minutes and RBA Governor Bullock’s speech on Tuesday and the FOMC Minutes on Wednesday. The attention will shift to the preliminary US S&P Global Manufacturing PMI for November on Friday. These data could give a clear direction to the AUD/USD pair.