AUD/NZD oversteps 1.1300 as focus shifts to RBA minutes

• AUD/NZD has stepped up the crucial resistance of 1.1300 on expectations of hawkish RBA minutes.
• As per the RBA, the OCR and inflation rate will top around 3.85% and 7% respectively.
• NZ Westpac Consumer Survey is seen higher at 87.6 vs. 78.7 reported earlier.

The AUD/NZD pair has violated the crucial resistance of 1.1300 with significant force as investors are expecting signs of more rate hikes from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) minutes. The cross is scaling sharply higher after establishing above the critical hurdle of 1.1260 on Monday. The asset is expected to display more upside considering the ongoing momentum.

Investors should be aware of the fact that the RBA announced a fourth rate hike of 50 basis points (bps) and pushed the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 2.35% in the September monetary policy meeting. RBA Governor Philip Lowe is continuously accelerating the OCR to scale down the soaring price pressures. The Australian inflation rate has already increased to 6.1%, reading belongs to the second quarter of CY2022.

Apart from that, the RBA policymakers cited that the OCR is expected to peak around 3.85% and the inflation rate will top around 7%. With the current pace of hiking the OCR by 50 bps, the central bank will reach the desired target by December 2022.

On the NZ front, the kiwi bulls have failed to capitalize on upbeat Business NZ PMI data.  The economic data landed significantly higher at 58.6 vs. the prior release of 54.4. Going forward, the NZ Westpac Consumer Survey will be keenly watched. As per the preliminary consensus, the sentiment data will land at 87.6 for the third quarter against the former figure of 78.7.