Australia's Retail Sales for January came out at +1.2% beating expectations of +0.4% as it appears that consumers are finally responding to the low interest rate environment fostered by the RBA's easing policy. Trade Balance for January also came out much stronger as it posted a surplus of AUD$ 1.43 Billion, easily exceeding estimates of AUD$ 0.11 Billion as exports outpaced imports. AUD/USD, which had been trading around 0.8955 prior to the releases, spiked higher as it broke through resistance at 0.9000 before running out of steam around 0.9036. The focus once again shifts to key resistance at 0.9080 and, a clear breach of this could see the pair target 0.9210 in the coming sessions.
RETAIL SALES
TRADE BALANCE
{Source: Bloomberg}
Ranges:{WWM's New ALPHA Trader-DAILY charts [EUR,GBP,AUD,YEN,GOLD,OIL,WallStreet]}(click to enlarge)
