AUD/USD drifted for a second straight week. This week has four events, including consumer inflation. Here is an outlook at the highlights and an updated technical analysis for AUD/USD.

The RBA minutes said that the current loose monetary policy would remain in place. The lockdown has triggered “panic buying” by consumers, which propelled March retail sales to an outstanding 8.2 percent. PMIs weakened in April. The manufacturing PMI fell to 45.6, down from 50.1. The services PMI sagged to 19.6, down from 39.8 points. This points to sharp contraction.

In the U.S., consumer spending plunged in March. Retail sales declined by a staggering 8.7%, worse than the estimate of -8.0 percent. The core reading fell by 4.5%, beating the forecast of 4.9 percent. The employment market remains in disarray, as employment claims topped the 5 million mark. On the manufacturing front, the Philly Manufacturing Index plunged to -56.6, compared to -12.7 a month earlier. This was weaker than the estimate of -30.0 points.

AUD/USD daily graph with support and resistance lines on it. Click to enlarge:

1. Inflation: Wednesday, 1:30. Australia releases consumer inflation on a quarterly basis, which magnifies the impact of each release. In Q4, CPI climbed to 0.7%, up from 0.5%. This marked the highest level since Q3 of 2016. However, CPI is projected to slow to 0.2% in Q1. The core release, known as Trimmed Mean CPI, posted a gain of 0.4% for a third consecutive quarter. The estimate for Q1 stands at 0.3 percent.
2. Chinese Manufacturing PMI: Thursday, 1:00. The PMI was unexpectedly strong in March, with a reading of 52.0. This was up sharply from the estimate of 35.7 points and beat the forecast of 44.9 points. The estimate for April stands at 51.0, which points to slight expansion.
3. Private Sector Credit: Thursday, 1:30. Borrowing levels in the private sector rose by 0.4% in February, up from 0.3%. This was its highest gain since October 2018. The estimate for March stands at 0.3 percent.
4. AIG Manufacturing Index: Thursday, 22:30. The index pointed to an expansion in manufacturing in March, with a reading of 53.7 points. This was sharply higher than the previous release of 44.3 and marked the first expansion in five months. Will we see another reading in expansion territory in April?

.AUD/USD Technical Analysis

Technical lines from top to bottom:

0.6627 has held in resistance since early March. 0.6560 is next.

0.6456 is providing support.

0.6380 (mentioned last week) is an immediate support level.

0.6240 is next.

0.6150 has provided support since early April.

The round number of 0.6000, which has psychological significance, is the final support level for now.

I remain bearish on AUD/USD

Investors have been battered by the meltdown in the stock markets and risk apprehension remains high. This means that minor currencies such as the Aussie will likely remain under pressure.