AUD/USD: Muted reaction to upward revision of Aussie Retail Sales
- AUD/USD is sidelined in Asia amid mild risk-off.
- Aussie retail sales for March revised higher but failed to lift the AUD.
AUD/USD continues to trade largely unchanged on the day near 0.6430 after Australia reported an upward revision in consumer spending in March.
Retail sales rose 8.5% year-on-year in March, compared to the preliminary estimate of 8.2% released last month. The markets were expecting the actual data to confirm the preliminary estimate.
While the data bettered estimates, the rise in spending could be associated with the panic buying seen ahead of the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Also, economic data have had little impact on the Aussie dollar in recent weeks, as the currency has been positively correlated with the global risk sentiment.
"The AUD underperformed other currencies against the US dollar from February into late March, then outperformed markedly in April as equity markets rebounded sharply," noted Westpac analysts in their note on AUD/CNY outlook.
Put simply, the AUD/USD pair is at the mercy of the broader market sentiment, which looks anti-risk at press time. The S&P 500 futures are down 0020% at press time and the safe-haven Japanese yen is drawing bids against most majors. Fears that gradual opening of major economies could lead to another wave of coronavirus along with the escalating US-China tensions over the origin of the virus and the latter's handling of the outbreak is likely keeping the risk assets under pressure during Wednesday's trading hours.