The Aussie rallied to its highest level since November against the greenback at 0.9236 following the release of the minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's February meeting – in which the RBA hiked interest rates by 25-basis points to 7.0%. The minutes reinforced market sentiment for further policy tightening over the coming months and revealed consideration from Board members for a more aggressive 50-basis point hike in February.
The rationale for a more aggressive move was deterioration in the inflation outlook and “the risk of inflation expectations becoming dislodged had increased”. The RBA added that “a significant further rise in the cash rate could be necessary” on the premise that “the current cash rate in real terms arguably was noticeably below what might be expected given the economy's circumstances”.
AUDUSD hovers around the 0.92-figure with interim resistance seen at 0.9240, backed by 0.9270 and 0.93. Subsequent ceilings are seen at 0.9330, followed by 0.9370 and 0.94. On the downside, support begins at 0.9160, backed by 0.9130 and 0.91. Additional floors will emerge at 0.9070, followed by 0.9030 and 0.90.