Australia, NZ dollars up slightly

SYDNEY: The Aussie and kiwi dollars were trading slightly higher on Tuesday, ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy decision that is expected to see its July bond tapering decision reversed due to ongoing pandemic lockdowns.

The Australian dollar was up 0.03% at $0.7366 ahead of the RBA’s announcement, after falling as low as $0.7330 in intraday trading the previous day. Its next test of support is at the 8-month low of $0.7289 it reached on July 21, and has resistance at $0.7421.

“The A$ remains in a 3 month downtrend,” Westpac Banking Group analysts said in a note. However, record profits and dividend payment announcements were supportive of the commodity-sensitive currency, despite lower iron ore prices in recent weeks.