Australian Dollar Rises As RBA's Steven Steers Clear Of Monetary Policy Comments

01:09, 28th April 2015

(RTTNews) - The Australian dollar continued to be stronger against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Tuesday after Reserve bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens refrained from making comments about May's monetary policy, signaling less chance of change in rates.

Speaking at a wealth management conference in Sydney, Stevens refused to speak on monetary policy ahead of the May 5 board meeting.

Stevens said, "Ahead of next week's meeting of the Reserve Bank Board, I have no comments to offer today on monetary policy."

"Low yields are very challenging for retirement income systems", he said.

However, some speculate a 50 percent possibility for a further rate cut in the May 5 meeting.

Investors are treading cautiously ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting that starts later in the day.

It remains unlikely that the Fed will hike interest rates before July, but markets are looking for some clarity on the timing of tightening when the Fed releases its statement on Wednesday.

A recent batch of disappointing economic data has led many analysts to predict that the Fed will delay its first rate hike until later this year.

Monday, the Australian dollar rose 0.40 percent against the U.S. dollar, 0.52 percent against the yen, 0.25 percent against the euro and 0.06 percent against the Canadian dollar.

In the Asian trading today, the Australian dollar rose to nearly a 5-week high of 0.7873 against the U.S. dollar, from yesterday's closing value of 0.7857. If the aussie extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around the 0.80 area.

Moving away from an early 4-day low of 0.9475 against the Canadian dollar, the aussie advanced to 0.9525. At yesterday's close, the pair was traded at 0.9490. It may test resistance near the 94.70 area.

Against the yen, the aussie edged up to 93.74 from yesterday's closing value of 93.52. On the upside, 94.70 is seen as the next resistance level for the aussie.

Data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed that the total value of retail sales in Japan tumbled 9.7 percent on year in March, coming in at 12.396 trillion yen. That missed forecasts for a decline of 7.5 percent, following the 1.7 percent contraction in February.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales dipped 1.9 percent versus expectations for an increase of 0.6 percent after gaining 0.7 percent a month earlier.

The aussie climbed to a 5-day high of 1.3814 against the euro and nearly a 5-week high of 1.0321 against the NZ dollar, from from yesterday's closing value of 1.3857 and 1.0273, respectively. Thereafter, the aussie held steady against the euro and the kiwi.

Looking ahead, U.K. BBA mortgage approvals for March, first quarter U.K. GDP and the U.K. index of services for February are due to released in the European session.

In the New York session, U.S. S&P Case-Shiller home price index for February and U.S. consumer confidence index for April are slated for release.

At 1:30 pm ET, European Central Bank Governing Council member Jens Weidmann is expected to speak at political forum, in Essen, Germany.