AUD/USD soars to almost 0.6400 on stronger-than-expected 7.3% Australian CPI

The AUD/USD pair increased to 0.6400 after the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the third quarter of CY2022 was 7.3%, which was higher than the consensus expectation of 7.0% and the previous release of 6.1%. In addition, the quarterly inflation rate has matched the prior estimate of 1.8% and above predictions of 1.5%.

This may drive the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to announce a higher rate hike in its upcoming monetary policy. The RBA raised the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 basis points (bps) to 2.6% during its monetary policy meeting in October. Governor Philip Lowe of the RBA slowed the pace of rate hikes in October, after the central bank had projected a 50 basis point rate hike period. Now, a larger-than-expected rate hike will require the RBA to return to a rate hike cycle of 50 basis points.

The Aussie bulls displayed a significant increase on Tuesday and defended the pessimism generated by Chinese President Jinping. The extraordinary third term of Chinese President XI Jinping lowered investor enthusiasm for Chinese stocks and other linked assets. Because Jinping's ideology-driven policies are detrimental to China's economic prospects, Australia was punished for being China's most important trading partner.

In the interim, the US dollar index (DXY) is retracing and has surpassed the 111.00 mark. Following a three-day purchasing binge, the risk-on profile has taken a knock as S&P500 futures have experienced a dramatic plunge. This could be a correction in the S&P 500 index after a bigger advance.