AUD/USD moves in tight range around 0.7770 ahead of US jobs report
|- AUD/USD stays in a consolidation phase following a two-day climb.
- US Dollar Index stays below 91.00 on Friday.
- Focus shifts to April Nonfarm Payrolls data from US.
The AUD/USD pair closed the previous two days in the positive territory and gained more than 70 pips during that period. Ahead of key macroeconomic data releases from the US, the pair seem to have gone into a consolidation phase and was last seen trading flat on the day at 0.7777.
RBA reaffirms accommodative stance
Earlier in the day, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) adopted a relatively cautious tone in its policy statement and said the policy will remain highly accommodative for years to come. The RBA further noted that the economy remains well short of full employment and added that the wage growth is "just too slow." These comments made it difficult for the AUD to continue to outperform its American counterpart.
Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index, which lost 0.4% on Thursday, stays on the back foot and posts small daily losses around 90.80, helping AUD/USD limit its losses.
Later in the session, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the April jobs report. Previewing the Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data, "payrolls probably surged again, helped by fiscal stimulus and an easing of COVID-19 restrictions, albeit not quite to the same degree as in March (916K)," said TD Securities analysts. "We expect that NFP increased by 875K in April, with the caveat that uncertainty about seasonal adjustment raises the potential for surprise."
Nonfarm Payrolls Preview: Forecasts from eight major banks for April jobs report.
Technical levels to watch for
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