Antipodean Currencies Rise As Traders Await U.S. PCE Inflation Data

(RTTNews) - The antipodean currencies such as the Australia and the New Zealand dollars strengthened against their major currencies in the Asian session on Friday, as traders await the July Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index due later in the day.

The U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index for July is due to be released later on the day, the last key inflation release before the Federal Reserve's September meeting. In July, headline PCE is predicted to expand 2.6 percent year over year, while core PCE is predicted to increase 2.9 percent.

The Fed Governor Christopher Waller stated on Thursday that he would support a fall in interest rates at the September meeting and additional reductions over the following three to six months to prevent the job market from collapsing.

In other economic news, Australia's Private Sector Credit increased by 0.7 percent month over month in July, the fastest growth since April, after two consecutive 0.6 percent gains. Annually, private credit grew at its fastest rate since February 2023, at 7.2 percent from 6.9 percent in the preceding two months.

Despite falling short of the anticipated 0.7 percent growth, Australia's private capital expenditure increased by 0.2 percent in the second quarter after declining by 0.1 percent in the first quarter.

In the Asian trading today, the Australian dollar rose to more than 2-week highs of 0.6543 against the U.S. dollar and 1.7825 against the euro, from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.6531 and 1.7883, respectively. If the aussie extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 0.66 against the greenback and 1.76 against the euro.

Against the yen and the Canadian dollar, the aussie advanced to nearly a 2-week high of 96.17 and a 2-day high of 0.8995 from Thursday's closing quotes of 95.89 and 0.8982, respectively. The aussie may test resistance around 97.00 against the yen and 0.90 against the loonie.

The NZ dollar rose to a 1-week high of 86.72 against the yen and a 2-day high of 1.1090 against the Australian dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of 86.38 and 1.1101, respectively. If the kiwi extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 88.00 against the yen and 1.09 against the aussie.

Against the U.S. dollar and the euro, the kiwi advanced to 9-day highs of 0.5895 and 1.9784 from Thursday's closing quotes of 0.5883 and 1.9852, respectively. The kiwi is likely to find resistance around 0.60 against the greenback and 1.95 against the euro.

Looking ahead, the German CPI data for August, Canada GDP data for the second quarter, U.S. PCE price index for July, personal income and spending data for July, U.S. Chicago PMI data for August, U.S. University of Michigan's consumer sentiment data for August and U.S. Baker Hughes oil rig count data are slated for release in the New York session.