AUD/USD remains under selling pressure around 0.6550, eyes on Australian employment data

AUD/USD extends its downside around 0.6550 on the firmer USD.
US Retail Sales came in at 0.6% MoM in December vs. 0.3% prior, beating expectations.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintains its cautious stance and forecasts only two rate cuts this year.
The Australian Unemployment Rate and Employment Change for December will be the highlights on Thursday.

Lallalit Srijandorn FXStreet

The AUD/USD pair remains under selling pressure during the early Asian session on Thursday. The downtick of the pair is driven by the discouraging Chinese data and the stronger US Dollar (USD) broadly. AUD/USD bounces off the fresh six-week lows near 0.6520 and currently trades around 0.6552, gaining 0.04% on the day.

Data from the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday that US Retail Sales rose 0.6% MoM in December from 0.3% in November, better than the estimation of 0.4%. Meanwhile, the Retail Sales Control Group grew 0.8% MoM in December from 0.5% in the previous reading, stronger than expected.

The Greenback gains traction for the fourth consecutive day as the Federal Reserve's (Fed) rate cut expectations ease. The US central bank seems not yet sure that inflation will reach 2% and Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Tuesday that any rate cuts this year should be done "methodically and carefully.”

On the Aussie front, the current cash rate sits at 4.34% after a hike of 25 basis points (bps) at the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) November meeting. The RBA maintains its cautious stance and forecasts only two rate cuts this year, whereas the US financial markets have priced in six rate cuts by the end of the year. Investors await the Australian labor data on Thursday for fresh impetus. The Unemployment Rate is estimated to remain at 3.9% for December.

Later on Thursday, market players will closely monitor the Australian employment data, including the Unemployment Rate and Employment Change for December. On the US docket, Housing Starts, Building Permits, weekly Initial Claims, and the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index will be due.

AUD/USD

Overview
Today last price	0.6552
Today Daily Change	-0.0030
Today Daily Change %	-0.46
Today daily open	0.6582

Trends
Daily SMA20	0.6744
Daily SMA50	0.6638
Daily SMA100	0.6516
Daily SMA200	0.6583

Levels
Previous Daily High	0.6663
Previous Daily Low	0.6576
Previous Weekly High	0.6735
Previous Weekly Low	0.6647
Previous Monthly High	0.6871
Previous Monthly Low	0.6526
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	0.661
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	0.663
Daily Pivot Point S1	0.6551
Daily Pivot Point S2	0.652
Daily Pivot Point S3	0.6464
Daily Pivot Point R1	0.6638
Daily Pivot Point R2	0.6694
Daily Pivot Point R3	0.6725

Author

Lallalit Srijandorn

FXStreet

Lallalit Srijandorn is a Parisian at heart. She has lived in France since 2019 and now becomes a digital entrepreneur based in Paris and Bangkok.

GBP/USD loses momentum, flirts with 1.3200

GBP/USD is struggling to maintain its positive bias on Thursday, retreating toward the 1.3200 region in response to the pick in the buying interest around the Greenback. That said, Cable remains under scrutiny as cautious market sentiment keeps investors focused on the US-Iran conflict and political effervescence in the UK.

EUR/USD trims gains, challenges 1.1400

EUR/USD now gives away part of its earlier advance, receding toward the 1.1400 contention zone on Thursday. Meanwhile, the pair’s recovery comes amid extra losses in the US Dollar, at the time when while investors continue to monitor developments in the Middle East and sentiment surrounding global technology stocks.

Gold remains bid and close to $4,100

Gold accelerates its recovery and approaches the key $4,000 mark per troy ounce at the end of the week, adding to Thursday’s advance. However, expectations for a hawkish Fed remain steady and keep the yellow metal’s potential upside contained.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin at $60,000, Ethereum at $1,500, and XRP at $1 face a make-or-break test

Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ripple (XRP) are trading in the red on Friday after three consecutive days of losses, testing their respective make-or-break support levels.

Week ahead – NFP report to challenge Dollar strength and the hawkish Fed

Dollar strength dominates markets, as the hawkish Fed overshadows geopolitics and lower oil prices. NFP week could drive September Fed hike expectations and boost market volatility. The euro lacks fresh bullish catalysts, all eyes on the preliminary inflation report and the ECB Forum.

Regime change: Inside Kevin Warsh's first move to make the Fed unreadable on purpose

The rate did not move. That was the least interesting thing about Kevin Warsh's first meeting in charge of the Fed. The FOMC held its benchmark at 3.50%-3.75% for the fourth straight meeting, exactly as priced, and then the new chair used his first press conference to dismantle the machinery the market has leaned on for a decade.