1Finance

The Australian dollar was on the back foot, partly due to the “risk off” sentiment. Is the battle for 0.80 over? The rate decision is the big event for the week, but certainly not the only one. Here are the highlights of the week.

1. AIG Manufacturing Index: Sunday, 22:30.
2. MI Inflation Gauge: Monday, 00:00. A similar figure is likely.
3. HIA New Home Sales: Tuesday, 00:00. The Housing Industry Association has reported two months of drops in sales of new homes. After a slide of 3.7% in July, we could see a bounce in the report for August.
4. Building Approvals: Tuesday, 00:30. Volatility is expected to continue in August.
5. Rate decision: Tuesday, 3:30. The Reserve Bank of Australia is firmly in “neutral”. In a recent public appearance by RBA Governor Phillip Lowe, he reiterated that interest rates are set to remain stable for the time being. The language about the Australian dollar will be interesting to watch in the statement. The RBA has complained about the exchange rate but not in an aggressive manner. Will it change now?
6. Commodity Prices: Tuesday, 5:30. Goldman Sachs recently said that iron prices are set to continue rising.
7. AIG Services Index: Tuesday, 22:30.
8. Retail Sales: Thursday, 00:30.
9. Trade Balance: Thursday, 00:30. Australia had a trade surplus in June, but it came out below expectations for the second month in a row. After 0.46 billion in June, we could see a wider surplus now for July.
10. AIG Construction Index: Thursday, 22:30.

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