AUD/USD refreshes three-week top above 0.7700 on upbeat Aussie employment figures

AUD/USD picks up bids after strong Australian jobs report for March.
Australia Employment Change grew past-35K forecast, Unemployment Rate dropped below market consensus and prior.
Economic recovery hopes ignore vaccine jitters, second-tier geopolitical risks to keep S&P 500 Futures up.
US dollar weakness adds to the upside momentum, US Retail Sales eyed.

Anil Panchal FXStreet

AUD/USD ticks up to refresh the highest since March 23 while flashing 0.7745 as a quote during early Thursday. While the broad US dollar weakness and market optimism seem to have favored the aussie pair’s initial run-up, the recently strong employment data for Australia helped the quote refresh multi-day high.

Australia’s headlines Employment Change rose beyond 35K forecast to 70.7K, versus 88.7K prior, whereas Unemployment Rate eases below 5.8% previous readouts and 5.7% market consensus to 5.6%.

Read: Aussie March Employment +70.7k vs Reuters poll +35.0k

Other than the jobs report, market sentiment and the US dollar weakness could also be cited as the key catalysts behind the AUD/USD run-up.

Given the strong vaccination drive in the developed economies, coupled with the unlock measures, traders stay optimistic over the faster economic recovery even as Johnson & Johnson recently spoiled the mood. Also on the risk-positive side could be the global central bankers’ fraternity that keeps defying the reflation risks and stand together in support of easy money policy. Additionally, US President Joe Biden’s $2.25 trillion infrastructure spending and Aussie PM Scott Morisson’s rejection of vaccine woes offer extra strength to the risk-on mood.

Alternatively, the US sanctions on Russia and Saudi Arabia’s interception of Houthi missiles and drones should have negatively affected the mood but failed amid a quiet session in Asia.

Amid these plays, S&P 500 Futures print 0.20% intraday gains but stocks in Australia are mildly offered as the US 10-year Treasury yields halt the previous downside. Though, the US dollar index (DXY) refreshes a three-week low and favors the AUD/USD bulls.

Considering the market optimism and weaker US dollar, not to forget the recent Aussie employment data, AUD/USD traders may remain positive ahead of the US Retail Sales figures for March, expected to reverse prior -3.5% with +6.3% YoY figures.

Read: US March Retail Sales Preview: Can a strong rebound ramp up inflation expectations?

Technical analysis

A daily closing beyond a downward sloping trend line from February 25, coupled with a clear breakout of 50-day SMA, respectively around 0.7640 and 0.7720, directs AUD/USD further north towards the 0.7800 threshold. However, March high near 0.7850 can test the bulls afterward.

Additional important levels

Overview
Today last price	0.7735
Today Daily Change	7 pips
Today Daily Change %	0.09%
Today daily open	0.7728

Trends
Daily SMA20	0.7645
Daily SMA50	0.7718
Daily SMA100	0.7664
Daily SMA200	0.7421

Levels
Previous Daily High	0.7739
Previous Daily Low	0.7633
Previous Weekly High	0.7678
Previous Weekly Low	0.7588
Previous Monthly High	0.785
Previous Monthly Low	0.7562
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	0.7699
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	0.7674
Daily Pivot Point S1	0.7661
Daily Pivot Point S2	0.7594
Daily Pivot Point S3	0.7555
Daily Pivot Point R1	0.7767
Daily Pivot Point R2	0.7806
Daily Pivot Point R3	0.7873

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.

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