A$ Moderately Higher But Struggling Against Kiwi

AUDUSD started the day trending lower falling to a trough of 0.6579 but then it has found some support from stronger local and US equities and data showing a pickup in consumer confidence, business conditions and elevated wage growth. The pair is currently up 0.1% to 0.6592 during APAC trading, close to the high of 0.6593. The USD index is slightly lower.

• AUDJPY has moved the most up 0.2% to 97.17 as USDJPY continues to trend higher. AUDNZD continues to moderate ahead of Wednesday’s closely-watched RBNZ decision. The pair is down 0.1% to 1.0935 to be down 0.6% this month. AUDEUR is slightly higher at 0.6028 and AUDGBP at 0.5161.
• Westpac August consumer confidence rose 2.8% m/m driven by tax cuts and the RBA’s extended pause. Q2 wages rose 0.8% q/q and 4.1% y/y. NAB July business conditions remain slightly below average but rose 2 points. The price/cost components showed a rise in labour costs but moderate final product inflation.
• Equities are mixed with the ASX up 0.2%, Hang Seng flat and CSI 300 down 0.2%. The S&P e-mini is 0.1% higher. Oil prices are lower after Monday’s sharp rally with WTI down 0.8% to $79.40/bbl. Copper is 0.7% lower and iron ore is slightly below $100/t.
• Later the Fed’s Bostic speaks on the economy and US July PPI and small business confidence print. There’s also UK labour market data and euro area August ZEW.