When is Aussie CAPEX and how might it affect AUD/USD?

Australia releases its latest update on business investment today at 00.30GMT with the release of private-sector capital expenditure (CAPEX) data for the September quarter.

Traders will be scoping out the details within this report for an insight into investment from parts of Australia’s private sector. While the details will include past investments, there will also be insights as to where it’s likely to head in the quarters ahead which is more key to the Aussie and in the absence of domestic drivers for the commodity currency of late, today's report is likely to garner some extra interest. 

How might CAPEX affect AUD/USD?

Analysts at ANZ explained that Q4 CAPEX data (especially the plant and machinery component which feeds into GDP) should confirm that growth remains on a solid footing and that this could provide some momentum to the AUD. The Aussie consolidated around 0.7570 in the NY session, but a choppy session could be on the cards today with Chinses data following the CAPEX report card while a test of 0.7500 and lower on a poor outcome of today's data could be significantly ahead of next months FOMC meeting. "The pair has bottomed this month at 0.7531, the level to break to confirm a new leg lower towards 0.7450, a strong long-term static support," Valeria Bednarik explained.

Key notes:

AUD/USD analysis: bearish ahead of Chinese critical data

AUDUSD: Sell @ 0.7600

About CAPEX

The Private Capital Expenditure released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics measures current and future capital expenditure intentions of the private sector. It is considered as an indicator of inflationary pressures. The CAPEX survey captures around 60% of the total business investment, excluding spending from industries such as agriculture, health and education. A high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the AUD, while a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).