US Session Open: AUDUSD trade setup, engulfing pattern/cup and handle psychology

AUD/USD is trading with a mild negative bias during the Asian session on Thursday, below a three-year high set the previous day. The US Dollar looks to build on Wednesday's upbeat US NFP-inspired bounce from an over one-week low, acting as a headwind for spot prices. However, the divergent Fed-RBA expectations, along with the underlying bullish sentiment, should help limit any meaningful corrective fall for the risk-sensitive Aussie.

The USD/JPY pair attracts some sellers to around 153.20 during the early Asian session on Thursday. The Japanese Yen strengthens against the US Dollar in the aftermath of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's landslide election victory. The attention will shift to the US Consumer Price Index inflation report, which is due later on Friday. 

Gold keeps the bid tone well in place on Wednesday, retargeting the $5,100 zone per troy ounce on the back of modest losses in the US Dollar and despite firm US Treasury yields across the curve. Moving forward, the yellow metal’s next test will come from the release of US CPI figures on Friday.

Bitcoin briefly bounced from $66,000 to above $68,000 but slightly reversed those gains following Wednesday's US January jobs report. The top crypto is hovering around $67,000, down 2% over the past 24 hours as of writing on Wednesday.

This was an unusual payrolls report for two reasons. Firstly, because it was released on  Wednesday, and secondly, because it included the 2025 revisions alongside the January NFP figure.

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.