- AUD/USD adds gains to the bounce from the day’s low.
- Aussie Employment Change rose beyond -30K forecast, Unemployment Rate slipped below 7.2% expected.
- Risk sentiment sour as virus woes joins China headlines, a shift in Brexit optimism.
AUD/USD picks up bids near 0.7290 after the Australian jobs report flashes welcome signs during Thursday’s Asian session. In doing so, the pair battle the latest challenges to the risks coming from the coronavirus (COVID-19) fronts. Also challenging the bulls are global angst versus China and the European Union’s (EU) fresh push for no-deal Brexit preparations.
Australia’s headline Employment Change crossed -29.5K prior and -30.0K market consensus with a surprise +178.8K level. Further details suggest, the Unemployment Rate also eased from 7.2% expected to 7.0% while Participation Rate boosted to 65.8%.
Read: Aussie Unemployment rate increased to 7.0% vs 6.9% prior, AUD firms
Even with the good beat of data, AUD/USD fails to register a major upside momentum, while cutting the intraday losses by a few pips, as challenges to the risk tone weigh on the quote.
Among them, the COVID-19 resurgence in the US, Europe and recently in Japan have been worrisome. At home, ABC News mentioned one of Australia’s toughest lockdowns in South Australia.
Elsewhere, the UK, Australia and the US released a joint statement conveying their disappointment from China’s performance in Hong Kong. The global leaders urge the Asian major to respect international commitment while urging to stop undermining the rights of the people of Hong Kong. That said, S&P 500 Futures print mild losses while stocks in Japan and Australia follow the suit as we write.
Looking forward, risk catalyst can keep the driver’s seat amid a light calendar in Asia. However, the latest challenges to risk may continue probing the AUD/USD buyers.
Technical analysis
Repeated failures to cross the 0.7340/45 upside hurdle direct AUD/USD sellers toward the weekly low near 0.7220. Though, any further weakness will confirm “double top” formation and can drag the quote to the late-October tops near 0.7180.
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