AUD/NZD: AUD retail trade miss spooks Aussie, shies away from early Tokyo gains

• The Aussie loses its vigor and retreats slightly on a retail sales miss.
• GDP numbers for Wednesday may be the spark needed to resume climbing.

The AUD/NZD is testing back below the 1.0750 handle, walking back early Tokyo session gains on disappointing data for the Aussie.

The Aussie is walking back the overnight session's gains following a miss from Aussie retail sales, and the lightweight Australian economy continues to pump out middling data that struggles to come near the ever-hopeful Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) targets. The Aussie will next be seeing GDP figures early Wednesday at 00:30 GMT, but analysts are mainly undercutting the RBA's >3.0% growth projection, with median estimates placing the number on the low side of 2.5%. The retail sales miss dumps the AUD?NZD back below the 1.0750 handle.

The Kiwi has fared slightly better than the Aussie in currency markets despite suffering from the same lack of growth figures, though optimism is somewhat higher for New Zealand, and the Kiwi has climbed over the Aussie in recent trading. However, a floor might materialize from the 1.0660 area, and a broader correction may be on the cards if the AUD can just manage to eke out a little bit of positive market play.

AUD/NZD Technicals

The Daily candles see the pair pricing in a soft double-bottom below the 200-day SMA, though technical indicators are beginning to shed confidence with buy signals from the MACD evaporating and the RSI middling in the face of lower highs. The H4 charts have the pair in a broad zigzag pattern, and bulls will be looking for a possible retracement from this level to hold above the double-bottom. Intraday support sits at 1.0705 and 1.0660, with resistance priced between 1.0770 and 1.0825.