The Australian Dollar ignores solid Housing Data

This morning, the Australian dollar (AUD/USD) ignored better than expected housing data out f the construction sector.

The economic data release, showed that building approvals rose 4.4 percent, monthly, in April. This was stronger than the rise of 3 percent forecasted. The annualized fall was at 17.2 percent. This was far better than the 18.1 percent contraction that was expected.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics, in this data release also said that the number of dwellings approved, for construction, was up by 0.1 percent in April. This was well within what they call “in trend terms.” This number has risen for three straight months and remains “relatively stable.”  Still, it remains below mid 2016’s record highs.

Australian Dollar ignores Data as Expected

The housing and construction sectors are already in the crosshairs of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) focus when setting monetary policy. The RBA is also shining a spotlight on these sectors after the building permits’ shocking March collapse.  That data was released earlier this month.

The latest numbers do suggest that things are starting to settle down in Australia’s housing and construction sectors. However, there is still the matter of the annualized retreat from the peaks that are continuing. The RBA will continue to be watching that data and retreats with interest.

After the data release, the Australian dollar remained silent. The AUD was still fetching 0.7425 against the US dollar.