AUD/NZD keeps RBA-led gains on mixed NZ employment data, Aussie Retail Sales eyed

AUD/NZD stays firmer after NZ Q1 2022 jobs data fails to impress sellers.
New Zealand Employment Change, Unemployment Rate match market forecasts.
RBA’s more-than-expected rate hike, pre-Fed consolidation previously favored bulls before NZ GDT Price Index.
Australia Retail Sales for March will offer immediate direction but FOMC will have a higher say.

Anil Panchal FXStreet

AUD/NZD remains mostly sidelined around 1.1035, mildly up of late, following the release of the New Zealand jobs report on early Wednesday in Asia.

As per the latest New Zealand (NZ) employment report from the Statistics New Zealand, the first quarter (Q1) 2022 Employment Change and Unemployment Rate figures match 0.1% and 3.2% respective market forecasts. Details suggest that the Participation Rate eased to 70.9% versus 71.1% expected and prior whereas Labour Cost Index met the 3.1% YoY expectations compared to 2.8% prior readouts.

Read: New Zealand Employment Report leaves NZD sidelined ahead of Fed

Earlier in the day, NZ GDT Price Index registered fourth consecutive slump with -8.5% figure, the most since 2015, versus -0.3% expected and -3.6% previous readings. Following that, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Financial Stability Report (FSR) praised the economic transition.

Read: RBNZ: The New Zealand financial system remains well placed to support the economy.

It’s worth noting that the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) higher-than-expected rate lift, as well as robust inflation and hopes of tighter monetary policy from other major central banks added strength to the AUD/NZD prices the previous day. However, pre-Fed caution seems to have tested the bulls afterwards.

Moving on, Australia’s Retail Sales for March, expected 0.6% versus 1.8% prior, will offer immediate direction to the pair but major attention will be given to the market’s mood ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).

Technical analysis

A daily closing beyond the August 2020 top surrounding 1.1045 becomes necessary for the AUD/NZD bulls to rule out a pullback towards a seven-week-old support line near 1.0850.

Additional important levels

Overview
Today last price	1.1032
Today Daily Change	0.0074
Today Daily Change %	0.68%
Today daily open	1.0958

Trends
Daily SMA20	1.0906
Daily SMA50	1.0805
Daily SMA100	1.0733
Daily SMA200	1.0589

Levels
Previous Daily High	1.098
Previous Daily Low	1.092
Previous Weekly High	1.0994
Previous Weekly Low	1.0819
Previous Monthly High	1.1
Previous Monthly Low	1.0762
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	1.0957
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	1.0943
Daily Pivot Point S1	1.0925
Daily Pivot Point S2	1.0892
Daily Pivot Point S3	1.0865
Daily Pivot Point R1	1.0985
Daily Pivot Point R2	1.1013
Daily Pivot Point R3	1.1045

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.

EUR/USD remains offered below 1.1800, looks at US data

EUR/USD is still trading on the defensive in the latter part of Thursday’s session, while the US Dollar maintains its bid bias as investors now gear up for Friday’s key release of the PCE data, advanced Q4 GDP prints and flash PMIs.

GBP/USD bounces off monthly lows near 1.3430

GBP/USD is sliding in tandem with its risk-sensitive peers, drifting back towards the 1.3430 area, its lowest levels in the month. The move reflects a firmer Greenback, supported by another round of solid US data and a somewhat divided FOMC Minutes.

Gold eyes next breakout on US GDP, PCE inflation data

Gold sticks to recent gains around the $5,000-mark early Friday, biding time before the high-impact US macro events. The focus is now on the US fourth-quarter Gross Domestic Product, core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index and the Supreme Court’s ruling on President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Ethereum: Active addresses halt growth as US selling pressure eases

Ethereum network growth has declined after two months of explosive increase. US selling pressure has eased following an improvement in the Coinbase Premium Index. ETH extends its range-bound move below the $2,107 resistance and above $1,740 .

Hawkish Fed minutes and a market finding its footing

It was green across the board for US Stock market indexes at the close on Wednesday, with most S&P 500 names ending higher, adding 38 points (0.6%) to 6,881 overall. At the GICS sector level, energy led gains, followed by technology and consumer discretionary, while utilities and real estate posted the largest losses.

Injective token surges over 13% following the approval of the mainnet upgrade proposal

Injective price rallies over 13% on Thursday after the network confirmed the approval of its IIP-619 proposal. The green light for the mainnet upgrade has boosted traders’ sentiment, as the upgrade aims to scale Injective’s real-time Ethereum Virtual Machine architecture and enhance its capabilities to support next-generation payments.