AUD/USD Analysis: waiting for January employment figures
|AUD/USD Current price: 0.7168
- Australia expected to have added 15.0K new jobs in January.
- AUD/USD torn between positive clues from equities and fears of an Australian economic downturn.
The AUD/USD pair peaked at 0.7182, its highest in over two weeks, as a result of broad dollar's weakness, yet only a few pips above the previous one, as the Westpac-MI Leading Index fell to -0.43% in January, suggesting that Australian GDP growth is set to continue slowing in the upcoming months. The country also released the Q4 Wage Price Index, up in the three months to December by 0.5%, below the previous 0.6%. The pair eased just modestly with the release of FOMC's Minutes, as equities' strength offset the downside potential.
Australia will release this Thursday, January employment figures. The economy is expected to have added 15.0K new jobs in the month, while the unemployment rate and the participation rate are expected to remain steady at 4.0% and 65.6% respectively. Better-than-expected numbers could give the pair a temporal lift, although the main concern of the RBA is the housing sector rather than the employment one, and therefore gains could be quickly trimmed.
Ahead of the Asian opening, the pair is trading unchanged daily basis, holding above its moving averages in the 4 hours chart, with the 20 SMA gaining upward traction at around 0.7145, providing an immediate short-term support. The Momentum indicator in the mentioned chart offers a neutral stance, heading nowhere around its mid-line, while the RSI is also lifeless but around 59, all of which suggests a limited bearish scope at the time being.
Support levels: 0.7150 0.7110 0.7070
Resistance levels: 0.7190 0.7235 0.7260
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