When are Aussie jobs and how could they affect AUD/USD?

Overview of Australian jobs report (Feb)

Australia's monthly jobs report is back on the cards for Asian markets today and employment is expected to rise for an 18th consecutive month, extending the record. The report will be released at 01:30 GMT and markets are looking for 21k, (Bloomberg forecasts ranging from +10k to +30k). 

Banks:

Westpac’s 20k forecast is in line with the consensus:

"A 20k rise in total jobs would leave annual job creation at a still very steep 3.2%, a pace highly likely to slow in the months ahead. We look for the unemployment rate to hold at 5.6%, versus consensus for 5.5%. After such a strong year of job growth, a surprise weak number today seems unlikely to have a lasting impact on markets."

 Analysts at ANZ are bullish on employment:

 "Ongoing solid business conditions, including strong profitability and hiring intentions, suggest that employment should have continued to rise in March. Job ads are still trending higher, although growth has slowed a little. We look for a rise of 18k and a tick lower in the unemployment rate to 5.5%."

How could the data affect AUD/USD?

Overnight, AUD/USD bounced from the 10-D SMA, (support) on a weak dollar in European trade and got a score through the 50-D SMA. It also pierced the 100-D SMA and descending resistance line. However, technicals remain bullish with higher RSIs and 200-D SMA 0.7816 is just around the corner, (the price has tended to hold territory on past breaks of the 200-D SMA). However, analysts at Commerzbank argued, "The convergence of resistance here – the 200 day ma, the top of the channel at 0.7816 and the 38.2% retracement at 0.7831, coupled with a TD perfected set up suggests that we should see the cross fail here," adding, that key support remains the 78.6% retracement at 0.7637 and the 2016-2018 uptrend line at 0.7628."

Key notes:

• AUD/JPY looking for 84.00 as risk appetite swings back
• AUD/USD couldn't quite make it to 0.78 ahead of the Aussie jobs report
• AUD/USD analysis: at weekly highs ahead of key employment data

About Aussie jobs data:

The Employment Change released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is a measure of the change in the number of employed people in Australia. Generally speaking, a rise in this indicator has positive implications for consumer spending which stimulates economic growth. Therefore, a high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the AUD, while a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).