- AUD/USD rebounded on Monday as sellers took a breather.
- All eyes are now on Wednesday’s session where the US releases inflation figures and the Fed makes its interest rate decision.
- There won’t be any economic highlights in Monday’s session.
On Monday, the AUD/USD pair experienced a slight rebound toward the 0.6605 area as sellers took profits after Friday’s sharp downward movements. This week will be pivotal as the Federal Reserve (Fed) meets on Wednesday, the same day when the US releases inflation data from May.
On the Australian side, economic activity is seeing some signs of weakness, but the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is expected to be the last G10 country central bank to cut rates as it awaits further evidence of inflation coming down. On the US side, the economic outlook remains strong after the stellar Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report on Friday, which demonstrated a strong labor market.
Daily Digest Market Movers: AUD/USD faces pressure as traders await CPI and Fed decision
- On the US side, markets await Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from May to be released on Wednesday
- Federal Reserve (Fed) is also meeting on Wednesday, and it’s expected to hold rates at 5.5%. Fresh economic projections will also be watched
- On the RBA’s side, it remains focused on curbing inflation despite signs of slowing growth
- Market participants are closely monitoring upcoming economic indicators and RBA statements for clues on the AUD/USD pair’s direction
Technical analysis: AUD/USD maintains support despite retracement
Following Friday’s drop of 1.20%, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands below 50, supporting the bearish sentiment, while the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) prints red bars, indicating growing selling pressure.
However, the positive outlook remains unchanged as the pair holds above the 100 and 200-day SMAs at around 0.6550.
Central banks FAQs
Central Banks have a key mandate which is making sure that there is price stability in a country or region. Economies are constantly facing inflation or deflation when prices for certain goods and services are fluctuating. Constant rising prices for the same goods means inflation, constant lowered prices for the same goods means deflation. It is the task of the central bank to keep the demand in line by tweaking its policy rate. For the biggest central banks like the US Federal Reserve (Fed), the European Central Bank (ECB) or the Bank of England (BoE), the mandate is to keep inflation close to 2%.
A central bank has one important tool at its disposal to get inflation higher or lower, and that is by tweaking its benchmark policy rate, commonly known as interest rate. On pre-communicated moments, the central bank will issue a statement with its policy rate and provide additional reasoning on why it is either remaining or changing (cutting or hiking) it. Local banks will adjust their savings and lending rates accordingly, which in turn will make it either harder or easier for people to earn on their savings or for companies to take out loans and make investments in their businesses. When the central bank hikes interest rates substantially, this is called monetary tightening. When it is cutting its benchmark rate, it is called monetary easing.
A central bank is often politically independent. Members of the central bank policy board are passing through a series of panels and hearings before being appointed to a policy board seat. Each member in that board often has a certain conviction on how the central bank should control inflation and the subsequent monetary policy. Members that want a very loose monetary policy, with low rates and cheap lending, to boost the economy substantially while being content to see inflation slightly above 2%, are called ‘doves’. Members that rather want to see higher rates to reward savings and want to keep a lit on inflation at all time are called ‘hawks’ and will not rest until inflation is at or just below 2%.
Normally, there is a chairman or president who leads each meeting, needs to create a consensus between the hawks or doves and has his or her final say when it would come down to a vote split to avoid a 50-50 tie on whether the current policy should be adjusted. The chairman will deliver speeches which often can be followed live, where the current monetary stance and outlook is being communicated. A central bank will try to push forward its monetary policy without triggering violent swings in rates, equities, or its currency. All members of the central bank will channel their stance toward the markets in advance of a policy meeting event. A few days before a policy meeting takes place until the new policy has been communicated, members are forbidden to talk publicly. This is called the blackout period.
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