Australian dollar steady ahead of employment print

AUD - Australian Dollar

The Australian Dollar saw a slight decline on Wednesday following a decline in commodity prices during the domestic session. Opening the morning at 0.7012, the local currency traded in a 20-point range before holding at psychological support levels of 70 US cents. It was a quiet 24 hours as the AUD/USD maintained these levels into open on Thursday morning with US yields lower on expectations of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates in the future.

Next movements for the Australian dollar will be dictated on the release of employment figures due for release this morning. From a technical perspective, the AUD/USD pair is currently trading at 0.7012. We continue to expect support to hold on moves approaching 70 US cents while now any upward push will likely meet resistance at 0.7060.

Key Movers

It was a quiet day globally for markets as the main focus overnight was a softening of the greenback against the majority of currencies. 10 year treasury notes was lower by 4bps to 2.06% as the market continues to bet on lower interest rates this year determined by the Federal Reserve. Furthermore the decline in the greenback can be attributed to softer reading of building permits in the United States, falling for the second straight month.

The Pound fell to multi year lows overnight of 1.2380 against the US dollar as markets continue to be worries by the increased chance of a no-deal Brexit. Cable recovered above the 1.24 handle as the British Consumer Price Index remained unchanged at 2.0% on a yearly basis.

A focus on G7 meetings continue this week as finance ministers continue to negotiate on trade tariffs. On the agenda this evening sees the release of UK Retail Sales and Philly Fed Manufacturing Index in the United States.

Expected Ranges

AUD/USD: 0.6980 - 0.7060 ▼

GBP/AUD: 1.7600 - 1.8000 ▲

AUD/NZD: 1.0380 - 1.0470 ▼

AUD/EUR: 0.6200 - 0.6280 ▼

AUD/CAD: 0.9100 - 0.9190 ▼