The AUD is up over 69c this morning. We have the RBA meeting on the 2nd and 3rd of February, next week, will rates go up after the RBA polishes their crystal ball. Some punters seem to think we are on the way to 70c in the short term. In all honesty this has more to do with the USD than the AUD. It’s not like we are seeing some miracle cure being used as a suppository on the local economy. It feels more like your standard, red, paddy melon suppository at present.
Aussie stats are OK, not mind blowing. GDP is holding steady at 2.1%. matching RBA projections. Retails sales are steady, poor, but steady. The unemployment rate is 4.1%, down 2pts from the last report. Inflation is still hurting us. The housing market, it’s OK if you are already in it but getting in it is a bit of a quest for many. Albo’s 5% first home buyers deposit is a gem isn’t it, you only need 5% on $1m to buy a house now, I mean, what 25 year old doesn’t have $50k laying around, makes those monthly payments of $6.5k look cheap. Whats the average wage of a 25 year old, $120k (they wish), so about $6.4k in the hand per month. But I digress, again.

US wheat futures fell away, handing back much of the gain on Friday. US weekly wheat export inspections were not great for the week ending Jan 22nd. Just 351kt, down towards the lower end of trade estimates prior to the release. Corn and beans fared better, both towards the higher end of estimates at 1.51mt and 1.324mt respectfully.
Global politics continue to be the major influencing factor. The storm in the US, as bad as it was, have you ever seen exploding trees because they freeze and can’t hold the weight of the ice. The storm doesn’t appear to have devastated the US winter wheat crop. Might be a little early to call no damage, but there appeared to have been enough snow fall to provide some cover across the HRWW belt.
Mixed conditions for the Argentine sorghum crop, dry in the north, wet in the south, are probably bang on what they are wanting.