- Kamil Amin, Caxton FX
Sales of new motor vehicles in Australia declined in July following a robust June, Australia Bureau of Statistics said. According to the official data, 93,479 new vehicles were sold in July down 1.3% from June's reading of 94,693, whereas June's figure was revised upwards from the initial 1.7% to show a rise of 2.2%. Nevertheless, it appeared that consumers are particularly interested in sport utility vehicles, with the corresponding gauge hitting a new record for Australia of 30,214 units, increasing as much as 2.3% during the reported period, recording the third consecutive month of growth. Overall sales of new vehicles have certainly peaked, and the trend on a yearly basis is downward on the back of a slight decline in passenger vehicles and drop in the "other" category.
The Australian Dollar has become more volatile recently with the overall health of the country's economy being brought into question after some poor data being released. As a stance on the Aussie Dollar is getting more and more negative, forecasts for 2015 are seen to be placed below the current levels. With long positions outnumber short ones, it does not mean that investors are expecting the RBA to lower its cash rate or fundamentals that would lower export prices, though. Traders are rather waiting for the Fed to likely hike its benchmark interest rate by mid-next year, thus strengthening the U.S. Dollar.
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