Home Daily Commentaries Australian Dollar range bound ahead of US non-farm payrolls

Australian Dollar range bound ahead of US non-farm payrolls

Daily Currency Update

AUD - Australian DollarIn the absence of any local data on Thursday the Aussie flirted within a 30-pip range against the Greenback and struggled to make a decisive move in either direction. After recovering from sharp losses made earlier on the week following the RBA’s cautious tone and markets interpretation that the RBA are on hold for now, but perhaps not for much longer, the Aussie pushed back above 71c and is currently clinging on to these levels changing hands at 0.7113 at the time of writing. Looking ahead, the domestic docket sees the release of the AiG Construction Index which will be looked upon for fresh clues on the health of the Australian construction industry. Also, tonight investors will be focused on US data which will see the release of government non-farm payrolls report for March along with wage growth and unemployment figures after the Federal Reserve appeared to rule out the likelihood of any rate hikes this year.Adopting a technical viewpoint, we see initial AUD/USD support at 0.7050 before 0.7000 (psychological level) on the downside. On the topside, first lines of resistance are seen at the 100 day moving average level of 0.7149 followed by 0.7204

Key Movers

The US dollar index edger higher despite a lack of high tier macroeconomic data releases. The Dow and S&P500 also moved higher on the back of hopes of a trade deal between the US and China with talks continuing in Washington after last week’s meeting in Beijing. The Euro pulled back following disappointing German Factory Orders which were the weakest since the GFC, the EUR/USD hit a low of 1.1206. The Sterling meanwhile also lost all gains made in the previous session against the US Dollar as Prime Minister May engages with the opposition Labour Party leader to negotiate a Brexit deal and faces criticism from colleagues in her own party. GBP/USD moved from 1.3191 down to a low of 1.3060.

Expected Ranges

  • AUD/USD: 0.7050 - 0.7150 ▼
  • AUD/EUR: 0.6280 - 0.6360 ▼
  • AUD/NZD: 1.0480 - 1.0600 ▲
  • GBP/AUD: 1.8200 - 1.8700 ▼
  • AUD/CAD: 0.9440 - 0.9540 ▲