AUD/USD: daring bulls ahead of FOMC making fresh highs, pushing the bid to 0.8080 resistance

Currently, AUD/USD is trading at 0.8074, up 0.78% on the day, having posted a daily high at 0.8079 and low at 0.7999.

AUD/USD has scored fresh highs ahead of the FOMC today. The pair has gained 140 pips on the week so far, in light of a bullish rhetoric around the Australian economy from the RBA minutes, noting solid jobs growth supports household incomes and spending. "For now, the bank seems comfortable keeping rates steady.  Bloomberg consensus sees the first RBA hike coming in Q4 2018, which for now seems appropriate," explained analysts at Brown Brothers Harriman. 

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The market impact has been a widening of the US-AU spread leaning in the favour of a higher Aussie, and until the RBA singles out the Aussie as an immediate concern, the bulls have the green light in pursuing higher levels still. However, everything will now depend on the outcome of today's FOMC. There are mixed views on what might come off in today's meeting and it is certainly a very key juncture in financial markets. The focus is on the balance sheet, the dot plot and guidance in respect to the timing of the next rate hike. This meeting around, the Fed has a great deal to prove if the markets are going to continue following the hawkish mantra in light of heightened risks to the US economy from many angles, including several measures of inflation that are not meeting the Fed's targets - a less than a hawkish outcome could see the dollar freefall and hints of a dovish hike in December could equate to the same market reaction - the Aussie bulls certainly seem to be convinced anyway.

AUD/USD levels 

For pre FOMC levels, "directly overhead lies the .8162/66 May 2015 peak and 50% retracement," as noted by analysts at Commerzbank, adding, "the intraday Elliott wave signals are neutral to negative. Below the uptrend and .7940 (low on 18th ) lies the .7808 current August low, which guards good support at .7748/41. It is where the February and March highs are located and while above here the market will remain bid longer term."