Bargain hunting spree pushes AUD higher

The ‘Aussie’ rallied against a number of its most traded peers including the Pound and US Dollar as traders embarked on a bout of bargain hunting.

The currency pushed close to US90 cents as investors sought to buy the ‘Aussie’ on the cheap.

The bout of buying meant that the currency largely ignored the disappointing data out of China.

Meanwhile, the sharp appreciation in AUD/JPY appears to be slowing for now.

The AUD/JPY  exploded higher over the final two weeks of 2013, tacking on nearly 300 pips despite the traditionally slow holiday trading conditions.

"As we roll into a new year though, the some of 2013’s luster seems to have worn off. The pair is down over 80 pips from Tuesday’s high and, more importantly, is displaying some clear bearish technical signals that point to a potential near-term top," says Matthew Weller at GFT.

According to Weller, from a support/resistance perspective, the pair is testing the topside of a two-month old bearish channel from the highs at 95.20.

The upper trend line has successfully held through three previous tests and early signs are pointing toward another reversal from here.

In fact, the pair is currently carving out a large Bearish Engulfing Candle on the daily chart.

This candlestick pattern shows a shift from buying to selling pressure and is often seen at near-term tops in the market. If the combination of strong resistance from the bearish channel and the bearish candlestick pattern mark a near-term top in the market, rates could pull back toward the 61.8% Fib retracement at 92.20 next week.