Australian Dollar rises ahead of key Australian employment data

AUD/USD surges as investors focus on Australia’s upcoming labor market report.
Stronger US ADP employment data boosts the US Dollar.
Australia’s Employment Change is expected to rise by 17.5K, while the Unemployment Rate is forecast to remain at 4.3%.

Agustin Wazne FXStreet

AUD/USD advances to the vicinity of the 0.7150 region on Wednesday as the United States (US) Dollar (USD) continues to lose momentum despite upbeat US labour market data on Tuesday. Meanwhile, traders now turn their attention to the upcoming Australian employment report.

Data-wise in the US, the latest ADP employment report showed that US private employers added 42,250 jobs on a four-week average, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) may maintain a cautious stance on interest rate cuts. The stronger labour market data boosted US Treasury yields and initially supported the Greenback across the board.

Investors are now closely watching Australia’s April Employment Change report, scheduled for release on Thursday. Market expectations point to an increase of around 17.5K jobs, while the Unemployment Rate is expected to remain steady at 4.3%. A stronger-than-expected labor market reading could reinforce expectations that the RBA may keep rates elevated for longer.

Short-term technical analysis:

On the 4-hour chart, AUD/USD trades at 0.7167. The pair holds a mildly constructive stance, trading above the 20-period Simple Moving Average (SMA) at 0.7136 yet capped by the 100-period SMA at 0.7194, leaving the broader tone neutral while intraday pressure skews modestly higher. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) has recovered to around 55, hinting that buyers have regained some control after an earlier oversold phase but still face nearby overhead supply.

On the topside, immediate resistance aligns at the nearby horizontal barrier around 0.7174, with the 100-period SMA at 0.7194 forming the next hurdle if bulls extend the latest bounce. On the downside, initial support is seen at the 20-period SMA at 0.7136, closely backed by horizontal levels around 0.7135 and 0.7128, while a break below 0.7115 would expose a deeper corrective phase within the broader range.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)

(This story was corrected on May 20 at 16:30 GMT to say that the AUD/USD is up following US Dollar weakness)

Author

Agustin Wazne

FXStreet

Agustin Wazne joined FXStreet as a Junior News Editor, focusing on Commodities and covering Majors.

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