The AUD/USD is trading upwards for Monday, looking for an extended bid into the 0.6380 level after the Aussie (AUD) caught some bidding momentum after Australian Retail Sales beat expectations, helping the Aussie capitalize on a Greenback (USD) that is treading water ahead of the Federal Reserve's (Fed) upcoming rate call on Wednesday.
Australian Retail Sales for September came in at a forecast-thumping 0.9%, well above the expected 0.3% and seeing a significant jump from August's reading of 03%, which was revised upwards from 0.2%.
Australia’s Retail Sales jump 0.9% MoM in September vs. 0.3% expected
On the US side, investors are awaiting the latest showing from the Federal Reserve (Fed) due to come in for a landing on Wednesday, and investors will be keeping their heads down ahead of the US central bank showing.
Fed: Rate hike in December on the table if data point to renewed strong growth in Q4 – Commerzbank
Investors are looking ahead to a potential rate hike from the Fed in December to close out 2023, as US data continues to show a firming-up economy in the face of restrictive monetary policy, and investors are facing down the odds of a rate cut cycle not materializing even further into the future than previously expected.
Monday's rebound continuation for the AUD/USD sees the pair set for a challenge of the 0.6400 handle in the near-term, with technical resistance building into the level from the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA).
The Aussie settled into a twelve-month low last week, tapping 0.6270 before getting pushed back into recent consolidation.
Aussie bulls will be looking for a chance to push the AUD/USD back into the topside of recent swing highs which built up a resistance zone from 0.6450 to 0.6500.
