Antipodean Currencies Rise Amid Risk-on Mood

(RTTNews) - The Antipodean currencies such as the Australia and the New Zealand dollar strengthened against their major currencies in the Asian session on Monday, amid easing concerns over a global trade war after U.S. President Donald Trump decided to delay the implementation of new reciprocal tariff plans.

Although tariff fears subsided a bit last week after the U.S. President decided to hold off hikes till April, there is still uncertainty about his administration's plans with regard to fresh levies.

Data showing U.S. retail sales slumped much more than expected in January increased expectations the US Fed will cut interest rate earlier than previously expected.

Meanwhile, markets bet amid rising speculation that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is likely to slash its interest rate cut on Tuesday. The RBA is expected to cut its Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 basis points (bps) to 4.10%, the first-rate reduction in four years.

Also, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) is likely to have a third supersized rate cut later this month.

In economic news, data from Business NZ showed that the services sector in New Zealand climbed up into expansion territory in January, with a Performance of Services Index score of 50.4. That's up from the upwardly revised 49.1 in December.

In the Asian trading today, the Australian dollar rose to a 5-day high of 1.6459 against the euro, from Friday's closing value of 1.6511. The aussie may test resistance around the 1.63 region.

Against the U.S. and the Canadian dollars, the aussie advanced to a 2-month high of 0.6374 and a 2-week high of 0.9034 from last week's closing quotes of 0.6350 and 0.9005, respectively. If the aussie extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 0.65 against the greenback and 0.91 against the loonie.

The aussie edged up to 1.1103 against the NZ dollar, from Friday's closing value of 1.1082. On the upside, 1.12 is seen as the next resistance level for the aussie.

The NZ dollar rose to nearly a 2-month high of 0.5750 against the U.S. dollar, from Friday's closing value of 0.5729. If the kiwi extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around the 0.59 region.

Against the euro, the kiwi advanced to a 6-day high of 1.8265 from last week's closing value of 1.8309. The kiwi may test resistance around the 1.81 are.

Looking ahead, Eurostat is slated to issue Eurozone trade data at 5:00 am ET in the European session. Economists expect the trade surplus to fall to EUR 14.4 billion in December from EUR 16.4 billion in November.

In the New York session, Canada housing starts for January is set to be published.