AUD/JPY: RBA’s Lowe fails to inspire Aussie bulls
- RBA's Lowe said the outlook for the Australian economy is improving.
- AUD/JPY's bounce from session lows has stalled near 73.85.
- Renewed coronavirus fears are likely weighing over the risk sentiment and pushing the yen higher.
The recovery in AUD/JPY is struggling to gather traction despite comments by the Reserve Bank of Australia governor that the outlook for the economy is improving.
While speaking at an event in Sydney a few minutes ago, Governor Lowe said the coronavirus outbreak is having an uncertain impact on Australia and absen the virus the economic outlook is improving.
He added further that Chinese stimulus, if any, will be positive for Australia and the central bank is not obsessed with getting inflation back to target in a hurry.
Even so, the AUD pairs continue to flash red. At press time, the AUD/JPY cross is trading at 73.85, representing a 0.37% drop on the day. The pair recovered slightly from 73.65 to 73.90 ahead of Lowe’s speech. As of now, the futures on the S&P 500 are reporting a 0.3% drop. If the risk-off tone worsens, the pair may set a new session low below 73.65.
The bid tone around the Japanese yen strengthened earlier today, sending the pair lower from 74.14 to 73.65 on renewed coronavirus fears, triggered by a surge in the number of confirmed cases in China’s Hubei province.
Additionally, Australian Consumer Inflation Expectations for February came in at 4%, missing the forecast of 4.3% and down from the previous month’s 4.7%. The data likely weakened the buying interest around the Aussie dollar.
Technical levels