AUDUSD benefits from China news, Aussie Retail Sales while paring recent losses

Call it the post-Jackson Hole consolidation or China-inspired optimism, markets portray a mildly positive outlook amid early Monday. The same joins downbeat US Treasury bond yields to weigh on the US Dollar.

Apart from the risk-on mood and the softer US Dollar, upbeat Australian retail Sales add strength to the AUDUSD, making it the biggest G10 gainer versus the Greenback. That said, NZDUSD also remains firmer while EURUSD and GBPUSD edge higher. It’s worth noting that the USDJPY and USDCAD lack clear directions of late whereas commodities struggle after an initially positive day.

With this, Gold Price stays defensive after posting the first weekly gains in five whereas the Crude Oil prints a three-day winning streak. On the same line, stocks in the Asia-Pacific zone rallied led by China equities whereas the West stock futures also printed mild gains of late.

Elsewhere, BTCUSD and ETHUSD remain depressed amid the month-end positioning and fears of harsh regulations for the cryptocurrencies.

Following are the latest moves of the key assets:

• Brent oil rises for the third consecutive day, up 0.20% intraday to near $84.70 by the press time.
• Gold price struggles to defend the first weekly gains in five around $1,915 at the latest.
• USD Index retreats from the highest level since the June-start, down 0.15% intraday bear 104.00 as we write.
• Wall Street benchmarks closed in the green and fuelled the stocks in the Asia-Pacific zone, led by China. That said, equities in Europe edge higher.
• BTCUSD remains mildly offered around $25,900 but ETHUSD holds lower grounds near $1,640 by the press time.

Markets appear cautiously optimistic…

Global central bankers defended their hawkish policies at Jackson Hole but hesitated in favoring further rate hikes, which in turn teased traders to anticipate an end of rate increases and favored sentiment. Additionally favoring the mood are the extra stimulus measures from China, as well as the early-day prints of upbeat Australia Retail Sales for July.

It’s worth noting, however, that the cautious mood ahead of this week’s US employment report and the Fed’s preferred inflation barometer, as well as China’s PMI, seem to poke the optimists of late. Also important to observe is the UK Summer Bank Holiday, which in turn restricts the market’s moves amid mixed feelings.

Elsewhere, fears of a delay in the Bitcoin ETF rollout join the industry battle with the US SEC to exert downside pressure on the BTCUSD and ETHUSD.

• Strong buy: USDCAD
• Strong sell: ETHUSD, GBPUSD, Gold
• Buy: USD Index, Nasdaq, USDJPY
• Sell: DAX, FTSE 100, BTCUSD, AUDUSD, EURUSD

Second-tier data/events to entertain traders…

Having witnessed a volatile week, traders may experience a calmer Monday amid a lack of top-tier data/events during the European and the US sessions. Even so, the mid-tier activity numbers and speeches from central bankers may allow the momentum traders to pare the previous moves ahead of the US NFP and Core PCE Price Index data. Further, Eurozone inflation numbers and GDP readings from multiple economies will fuel market moves in the days to come.

May the trading luck be with you!