AUD/USD seesaws around 0.7150 on cautious RBA SoMP, firmer yields, focus on US NFP

AUD/USD pays a little heed to quarterly RBA statement, dribbles around weekly top.
RBA SoMP said that the board is prepared to be patient, cited uncertainties surrounding inflation outlook.
Yields stay firmer, stock futures rise amid escalating geopolitical concerns and pre-NFP lull.

Anil Panchal FXStreet

AUD/USD flirts with daily tops surrounding 0.7150 following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) quarterly Statement of Monetary Policy (SoMP). The Aussie pair refreshed weekly top the previous day before reversing from 0.7168 but is gaining 0.20% intraday by the press time of Friday’s Asian session.

RBA SoMP repeated the recent communication from Australia’s central bank, firstly via Rate Statement and then by Governor Philip Lowe, while rejecting the need for immediate rate hikes even as the inflation figures are strong. “We will not raise interest rates until inflation is consistently in the target range,” said the bank per the statement.

Read: RBA SoMP: RBA is prepared to be patient as it monitors how the various factors affecting inflation in Australia evolve

It’s worth noting that mixed concern in the market and pre-NFP caution also challenges the AUD/USD traders of late, following the volatile day due to the central bank actions and mixed US data.

On the positive side are the recently easing Aussie covid numbers and South Australia’s (SA) easing of activity restrictions. Also helping the AUD/USD prices could be the downbeat performance of the US Dollar Index (DXY) and around 1.0% daily gain of the S&P 500 Futures.

Alternatively, firmer US Treasury yields and geopolitical concerns surrounding Russia-Ukraine, as well as global inflation fears, seem to challenge the AUD/USD buyers.

Moving on, the Aussie pair traders may witness a lackluster day ahead of the US jobs report for January as markets turn cautious due to the negative surprise from US ADP Employment Change for January, to -301K versus +207K forecast.

Read: Nonfarm Payrolls Preview: Win-win-win for the dollar? Low expectations, weak greenback point higher

Technical analysis

AUD/USD battles a fortnight-old resistance line near 0.7150 amid receding bullish bias of MACD, suggesting further grinds 50-SMA and 200-SMA on the four-hour (4H) chart, respectively around 0.7095 and 0.7185.

AUD/USD

Overview
Today last price	0.7146
Today Daily Change	0.0016
Today Daily Change %	0.22
Today daily open	0.713

Trends
Daily SMA20	0.7163
Daily SMA50	0.7165
Daily SMA100	0.7255
Daily SMA200	0.7383

Levels
Previous Daily High	0.7168
Previous Daily Low	0.7108
Previous Weekly High	0.7188
Previous Weekly Low	0.6966
Previous Monthly High	0.7315
Previous Monthly Low	0.6966
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	0.7131
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	0.7146
Daily Pivot Point S1	0.7103
Daily Pivot Point S2	0.7076
Daily Pivot Point S3	0.7043
Daily Pivot Point R1	0.7163
Daily Pivot Point R2	0.7196
Daily Pivot Point R3	0.7223

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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