AUDUSD Rallies As China Holiday Ends

AUDUSD approached Friday’s high of 0.7130 but after reaching 0.7120, on the back of China growth optimism post the Lunar New Year holiday, it retreated to 0.7105 but is now around 0.7110 (+0.1%). Initial resistance stands at 0.7142 and support at 0.6994. The USD is flat.

• AUDNZD has been range trading and is now flat on Friday’s NY close at around 1.0942. Aussie has gained against the yen and is up 0.2% to 92.65, around the intraday high. AUDEUR has also retreated from the 0.6550 intraday high and is now around 0.6543.
• Equity markets are mixed in the region with the ASX down 0.1% and the Hang Seng -0.6% post the holiday but the Nikkei up 0.2%. S&P e-minis are down 0.2% after the US finished higher on Friday. WTI oil prices are back above $80/bbl on China optimism after Friday’s sell off. Iron ore is also higher rising to $128.50/t. Copper is flat after falling at the end of last week.
• Calendar remains quiet in the norther hemisphere with the highlight the EC survey for January. Tomorrow in Australia December retail sales print and are expected to decline slightly by 0.2% m/m after November’s 1.4%.