AUD/USD back below 0.76 ahead of the Australian Jobs release

The Aussie is trading on the low side ahead of AU employment figures which are expected to beat, and extend the indicator's positive run.
The next US session also sees US Retail Sales, and fortunes could reverse quickly if the numbers disappoint.

Joshua Gibson FXStreet

The AUD/USD is trading down in the Asia session, in play around 0.7560 after a volatile Wednesday that saw the pair climb to familiar levels near the 0.7600 handle before plummeting into 0.7530 on a 25 bps rate hike from the US FOMC, but the pair recovered in the late US session.

Today brings Australian Employment figures, and the printing is expected to rise for a 19th consecutive month, an indicator record. Australian jobs data is expected to get boosted by recent positive leading data, as well as 'favorable seasonals'. Aussie bulls will happily take any good news they can get as the AUD fights to keep momentum going on a technical recovery from an eleven-month low in May.

On the US side, American Retail Sales figures will be seen at 12:30 GMT for Thursday, with the headline year-on-year Retail Sales (excluding autos) for the month of May expected to come in at 0.5%, a minor uptick from the previous reading of 0.3%. Economic data for the US economy has been improving quite strong as of late, but another unexpected downturn in the figures could see the US Fed in full retreat over its current policy.

AUD/USD Levels to watch

The Aussie fell off steeply after the US Fed hiked interest rates by 25 bps, but recovered quickly and ended Wednesday mostly flat, while the run-up into Wednesday's US session gave a re-tap of the current descending trendline, confirming a bearish bias. The ongoing long-term technical correction from May's bottom at 0.7421 is set to face challenges if Aussie bulls don't spin the pair around.

Spot rate: 0.7567
Relative change: -0.12%
High: 0.7582
Low: 0.7561

Trend: Bearish

Support 1: 0.7552 (61.8% 1-Month Fibonacci retracement level)
Support 2: 0.7529 (Wednesday low)
Support 3: 0.7475 (one month low)

Resistance 1: 0.7608 (Wednesday high, failed break of key major level)
Resistance 2: 0.7623 (current week high)
Resistance 3: 0.7676 (two-week high; technical top)

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Author

Joshua Gibson

FXStreet

Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.

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