Following up after Monday’s home and automotive sales in Australia, this morning’s data from the land down under also revealed growing weakness. On the docket today was Westpac Banking Corporation’s consumer sentiment report and the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ wage price index.
Westpac’s sentiment report came with no expectations, which made its impact less felt in trading circles. The report measures the change in the level of a diffusion index based on surveyed consumers regarding past and future economic conditions. This month the index fell 1.3% in sentiment; a change from the previous month’s rise of 1.2%.
The Bureau of Statistics in Australia then published its wage price index an hour later at 2:30 GMT. The figure was expected to show 1.2% growth for April, beating out last month’s 1.0% reading. The actual result, however, was a muted growth of only 0.8%.
This data, coupled with Monday’s sales figures, has helped pull the Aussie (AUD) lower against most of its currency counterparts. Forex traders have witnessed the AUD/USD, as an example, pulling lower over the past several days with traders pricing in the weakened fundamentals. Just this morning, the pair moved from 1.0655 to its current price near 1.0600, with further bearishness being anticipated.
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