Seeking a bearish breakout on AUD/USDThe Australian economy has had a few of soft data points this week which, whilst not detrimental to the economy, will be duly noted by the RBA as they seek to cool the economy without completely breaking it (and ponder a pause in rate hikes). Yesterday we found inflation was 'only' 7.4% y/y, compared to 8.1% expected and 8.4% prior - and GDP was soft at 0.5% q/q.
Well today things got a little more interesting with housing and credit data. The S&P Global Ratings Agency noted in a report that mortgage arrears were on the rise, whilst dwelling approvals nosedived nearly 30% in January alone. Cleary, RBA's aggressive hiking path is beginning to bite, and we also need to consider that there's a large lag between hikes and such data points (so expect further weakness to come). And that matters, as it could force the RBA to stop hiking sooner than they currently expect, and that is likely to weigh further on AUD/USD whilst some Fed members continue to speak of interest rates being over 5.4% and ponder between a 25 or 50bp hike in March.
AUD/USD daily chart:
We can see on the 4-hour chart that the AU-US 2-year yield differential is pointing sharply lower as US yields continue to outpace their Australian counterparts. Prices are consolidating within a potential bear flag or retracement channel, whilst the RSI (14) remains below 50 and shows the potential for a lower high. If prices drift higher, bears could seek bearing setups below the 0.68200 (last week's VPOC) or the daily pivot point. Otherwise, they could wait for a bearish break of the bear-flag and assumes bearish continuation towards 0.6650 and 0.6570.
