It's the time of year for some big moves

AUD/USD fell about 1% on Thursday, wrapping the day up near the 0.7010 level after testing below the key 0.7000 handle intraday. The pair has now pulled back sharply from Tuesday's bounce, with two consecutive bearish sessions erasing most of the week's early gains. Price continues to chop within the roughly 150-pip consolidation band between 0.7000 and the year-to-date high close to 0.7150 that has defined the range since early February.

USD/JPY advanced on Thursday during the North American session, up by nearly 0.30% as the Greenback is boosted by risk appetite deterioration, solid US jobs data and hawkish comments by the Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin. At the time of writing, the pair trades at 157.50 above its opening price.

Gold price tumbles to near $5,085 during the early Asian session on Friday. The precious metal loses ground amid a stronger US Dollar. The US employment report for February will take center stage later on Friday. 

OKX announced an investment from Intercontinental Exchange, raising its valuation to $25 billion, alongside a partnership to expand regulated crypto futures and tokenized equity offerings globally.

China’s economic data are often treated with a degree of caution by global investors. The challenge is not necessarily that the numbers are incorrect, but that they can describe very different parts of a vast and complex economy. Nowhere is that more evident than in China’s PMIs.

The US Dollar (USD) is being supported by crude oil prices, which rose to its highest level since July 2024, amid headlines of potential interruptions to the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on vessels in the region.