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Australian dollar steady ahead of employment data

Daily Currency Update

AUD - Australian DollarThe Australian dollar is steady this morning when valued against the Greenback finishing the day relatively unchanged around 0.6850. The Aussie dragged down in early trade yesterday on the back of the Australian Westpac Leading Index, which continued signalling growth below trend. The index resulted in -0,09% in November, while the October reading was revised to -0.15%. Looking ahead today on the release front in Australia will release November employment figures this Thursday. Recent macro-economic data from Australia has been on the softer side, keeping interest rate cut expectations alive. Last month total employment fell for the first time in 17 months. This triggered a selloff in the Australian dollar. The country is expected to have added 14K new jobs in the month, after losing 19K position in October. The unemployment rate is expected to remain steady at 5.3%. From a technical perspective, the AUD/USD pair is currently trading at 0.6853. We continue to expect support to hold on moves approaching 0.6830 while now any upward push will likely meet resistance around 0.6865.

Key Movers

The Pound sterling remained under selling pressure yesterday against the Greenback, settling below the 1.3100 figure and not far above a daily low of 1.3059. The Pound sterling is the softest of the majors, losing further ground after Prime Minister Boris Johnson looked to prevent the UK from extending the Brexit transition process beyond the end of next year. The U.S. dollar rose on Wednesday alongside Treasury yields, boosted for the second straight day by strong economic data earlier this week. Yesterday in the UK the release of November inflation figures ticked up to 1.5% YoY in November, below the Bank of England’s target and in-line with its recent downtrend. Looking ahead tonight in the UK we will see the release of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Meeting where the official cash rate is expected to remain at 0.75%. We will also see the release of monthly Retail Sales figures which is expected to come in at 0.3% an uplift from the previous month -0.1%. From a technical perspective, the GBP/USD pair is currently trading at 1.3080. We continue to expect support to hold on moves approaching 1.3050 while now any upward push will likely meet resistance around 1.3130.

Expected Ranges

  • AUD/USD: 0.6750 - 0.6950 ▲
  • GBP/AUD: 1.9000 - 1.9200 ▼
  • AUD/NZD: 1.0300 - 1.0500 ▼
  • AUD/EUR: 0.6050 - 0.6250 ▲
  • AUD/CAD: 0.8850 - 0.9050 ▼