Aussie trades mildly higher after RBA kept the cash rate unchanged at 1.50% as widely expected. The statement is almost likely a carbon copy of the prior one. Nonetheless, RBA sounded more optimistic on wage growth as it said that “the rate of wage growth appears to have troughed”. Regarding the economy, Australian economy is expected to grow fast in 2018 than in 2018. Regarding inflation RBA maintained that “the central forecast is for CPI inflation to be a bit above 2 per cent in 2018.” The statement concluded by maintaining “holding the stance of monetary policy unchanged at this meeting would be consistent with sustainable growth in the economy and achieving the inflation target over time.”
Released earlier in Australia retail sales rose 0.1% mom in January, below expectation of 0.4% mom. Current account deficit widened to AUD -14.0b in Q4.
AUD/USD mildly higher but first hurdle of near term reversal is trend line resistance at 0.78.
