0523 GMT - The RBA statement should back prospects for a shallow easing cycle and anchor the Australian dollar against its U.S counterpart in the near term, Westpac's Richard Franulovich says in a research report. The currency pair is likely to continue to target higher levels over a one-month horizon, owing to several factors, the head of the FX Strategy Group says. These factors include ongoing AUD demand from the mining sector for dividend payments and possible policy upside surprises from China's National People's Congress meeting in March, Franulovich adds. Westpac doesn't expect AUD/USD to trade materially below the 0.6300 level. AUD/USD is 0.1% lower at 0.6352. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 18, 2025 00:23 ET (05:23 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.