The Australian dollar has made it through another week of trading against the dollar to trade under 0.65, despite the number of tries it made to trade above but failing to stay at those levels. The Aussie has, however, ended the week stronger by 1.3%. The market will be paying very close attention to the U.S. Nonfarm payrolls to be released tomorrow for any signs of growth or uptick in earnings, which will add risk for a possible move higher in interest rates by the Federal Reserve. Adding to the pull back of the Aussie from its highs is China’s economic woes and whether their stimulus will help the country. Being one of Australia’s largest customers, China’s weakness will significantly impact the Australian economy. China has approved a rate cut on existing mortgages for first time home buyers. It also lowers the down payment required for first- and second-time home buyers in hopes to stimulate buyers and prop up the economy that has been suffering.
The RBA will be holding its monetary policy meeting next week which will be held on Tuesday to determine if the cash rate will be changed. With a softer amount of economic data being released, it is not expected that rates will be hiked at this meeting.
