AUD/JPY again challenges 80.65/70 resistance-area on upbeat Australia employment data
- Strong growth in employment change and increased participation rate helps dim RBA’s bearish bias.
- The pair needs to clear 80.70 in order to aim for 81.50 else 80.00 can come back on the chart.
AUD/JPY surged 40 pips to 80.60 just after Australia’s employment report release during early Thursday. The pair benefited from upbeat China data on Wednesday but 80.65/70 area continued to restrict its advances.
Australia’s seasonally adjusted employment change surged to 25.7K from 4.6K prior and 12.0K forecast whereas unemployment rate matched 5.0% consensus by being ahead of 4.9% prior. Further, the participation rate increased to 65.7% from 65.6% consensus and prior.
On the other hand, Japan’s April month preliminary reading of Nikkei manufacturing purchasing manager index (PMI) rose to 49.5 from 49.2.
News reports concerning North Korea’s tactical weapon test and global rating agency Fitch affirming Australia’s credit status at AAA with some cautious notes likely triggered the AUD/JPY pair’s pullback during early Thursday.
Risk sentiment is likely being challenged off-late as the US 10-year treasury yields are nearly one basis point down to 2.58%.
Absence of major data from Australia and Japan pushes investors to concentrate more on risk events like developments surrounding the US-China trade deal, Brexit and other geopolitical catalysts for fresh direction.
AUD/JPY Technical Analysis
Unless successfully clearing 80.65/70 area including December 10 and 18 lows, the quote is likely to rise towards 81.50 and December 13 high near 82.20.
Alternatively, 80.00 and 79.70/60 region comprising multiple highs marked since February to early April can limit the immediate downside of the pair, a break of which highlights 50-day simple moving average (SMA) near 79.00 as important support.
Author
Anil Panchal
FXStreet
Anil Panchal has nearly 15 years of experience in tracking financial markets. With a keen interest in macroeconomics, Anil aptly tracks global news/updates and stays well-informed about the global financial moves and their implications.
