The Reserve Bank of Australia has decided to keep the interest rate unchanged.

The Australian dollar has continuously weakened to a level of 1.53 Australian dollars per US dollar due to economic data in Australia being both better and worse than expected. Amidst easing inflationary pressures, business confidence has decreased below average due to the interest rate hikes in the past year.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has kept the interest rate unchanged at 4.35% at its first meeting of 2024, in line with investors' and analysts' expectations. Policymakers also commented that cost pressures in the country are beginning to ease, but inflation rates remain high due to insufficient service price reductions, making it impractical to implement easing monetary policies. Analysts predict that interest rates will remain unchanged until mid-2024.

The RBA's objective remains to bring inflation back to 2-3% within 2025. Policymakers emphasize the need to closely monitor global economic data and trends, including inflationary tendencies and labor market conditions in the country, to inform future monetary policy decisions.

Job postings in Australia increased by 1.7% monthly in January 2024, indicating sustained labor demand, particularly in management and software development, which has seen rapid growth in the past year. Economist Madeline Dunk from ANZ forecasts a slight increase in the unemployment rate to 4.2% by the end of the year.

Australia's trade surplus for goods decreased to 10.96 billion Australian dollars in December 2023 from 11.76 billion Australian dollars the previous month, primarily due to slower export growth compared to imports. Export growth was 1.8%, totaling 47.13 billion Australian dollars, driven by increased exports of gold, metals, and fuels by over 12%. Additionally, meat exports increased by 20%, with China being a significant trading partner for Australia.

Imports into Australia increased by 4.8%, totaling 36.17 billion Australian dollars monthly, with consumer goods accounting for most of the increase at 4.6%. Other imports, including intermediate and other goods, also increased by 4.5%. However, purchases of capital goods decreased by 1.0%, totaling 8.62 billion Australian dollars, mainly due to reduced imports of transport and machinery equipment.

Techical analysis data (5H)

Resistance: 1.536, 1.5375, 1.5398

Source: Investing.com

Buy/Long 1: If the price touches support in the price range of 1.5299 - 1.5322 but cannot break the support at 1.5322, you may set a TP at approximately 1.5375 and SL at around 1.5284 or according to your acceptable risk.

Buy/Long 2: If the price breaks the resistance in the price range of 1.536 - 1.5375, you may set a TP at approximately 1.5398 and SL at around 1.5299 or according to your acceptable risk.

Sell/Short 1: If the price touches resistance in the price range of 1.536 - 1.5375 but cannot break the resistance at 1.536, you may set a TP at approximately 1.5299 and SL at around 1.5398 or according to your acceptable risk.

Sell/Short 2: If the price breaks the support in the price range of 1.5299 - 1.5322, you may set a TP at approximately 1.5284 and SL at around 1.5375 or according to your acceptable risk.

Pivot point February 13, 2024 05:55 PM. GMT+7