US Session Open

AUD/USD has paused its uptick to near 0.7150 in the Asian session on Thursday, at a three-year high. Cautious remarks from RBA Governor Bullock seem to cap the Aussie's upside. However, renewed US Dollar weakness cushions the pair's downside ahead of US Jobless Claims data. 

USD/JPY attracts fresh sellers and falls back below 153.00 in the Asian session on Thursday. The US Dollar reverses the strong jobs data-led recovery, weighing on the pair amid the ongoing bullish momentum in the Japanese Yen, helped by Japanese verbal intervention. Japan's PM Sanae Takaichi's landslide election victory also keeps the local currency buoyed. The attention now remains on Friday's US Consumer Price Index inflation report.

Gold is back in the red near $5,050 early Thursday, having faced strong offers at around the $5,100 mark once again. Buyers keep a close eye on the mid-tier US Jobless Claims data and US-Iran geopolitical developments to regain control.

Markets will be watching closely on Thursday, when the United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics will release the advance estimate of Q4 Gross Domestic Product. If the data land in line with consensus, the UK economy would have continued to grow at an annualised pace of 1.2%, compared with 1.3% recorded the previous year. 

The payroll number did not just beat. It reset the tone. 130,000 vs. 65,000 expected, with a 35,000 whisper. 79 of 80 economists leaning the wrong way. Unemployment and underemployment are edging lower. For all the statistical fog around birth-death adjustments and seasonal quirks, the core message was unmistakable. The labour market is not cracking.

The United States (US) released stronger-than-expected US Nonfarm Payrolls report for January, adding 130K jobs in quite an auspicious start to the year, while the Unemployment Rate ticked lower to 4.3%, and Average Hourly Earnings held steady at 3.7% over the last twelve months.