AUDUSD Bears Eye 2018 Lows Amid Escalating US-China Trade War

AUD Analysis and News

AustralianDollar sells off after the Trump administration announces $200bln worth of tariffs
AUDbears look to make a move towards the 2018

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President Trump Fires Another Round of Tariffs

Overnight, the Trump administration stated that they will impose another round of tariffs of 10% on $200bln worth of Chinese goods. This came in response to China implementing reciprocal tariffs of $34bln on US goods following the US implementation of tariffs on July 6th. The Chinese have stated that they will be forced to retaliate, as such, this has dampened the prospects for the Australian Dollar given Australia’s reliance on the Chinese economy, subsequently, this has increased the scope for AUD bears to attack the 2018 lows (0.7310).

Australian Dollar Technical Outlook

AUDUSD trend signals are weak with RSI indicators suggesting the bias is towards the downside. A break and a close below the 20DMA at 0.7398 would confirm that the outlook for the pair is bearish, which given the escalating tensions, seems increasingly likely. Alongside this, the series of lower highs continues to signal that the AUDUSD downtrend is intact. Bears are looking to make run in on the 2018 low situated at 0.7310, however, support is seen at 0.7340, which could curb some selling pressure.

AUDUSD PRICE CHART: DAILY TIME FRAME (January 2018-July 2018)

Chart by IG

AUD Short Positioning at Highest Since Q4 2015

Given the backdrop of trade wars short positioning in the Australian Dollar remains elevated with net shorts equating to $3bln. This in turn has seen speculators the most bearish on the Australian Dollar since Q4 2015 with room for shorts to build amid the escalation in the US-China trade war.