Australian dollar hits 2 week high

Financial and commodity markets analytics

The Australian dollar has broken through the US71c today, its highest level in 2 weeks on the back of strong Chinese data.

At 8.34pm (GMT) the Aussie dollar was trading at US71.34c up from US70.91c at close of trade on Friday.

The latest retail sales figure from China came in at 10.8% against analysts’ expectations of a 10.5% rise, which led some to believe that the country is beginning to make the transition to a consumer based economy which will take some of the pressure off the export market.

OANDA Australia and Asia Pacific senior trader Stephen Innes said the Chinese data was a result of moves recently made by the government to boost the economy..

“Overall, the data does support the notion that the recent People’s Bank of China (PBoC) easing policies are starting to filter through the economy,” he said.

Mt Innes also noted that the Australian dollar may receive more support tomorrow, with the release of the latest minutes meeting from the Reserve Bank of Australia where he expects no jawboning of the local currency.

“The RBA will release its monetary policy minutes tomorrow, which may also be supportive for the Aussie. I expect the RBA to reinforce the notion that they have shifted to a neutral stance.” He added.303938