- AUD/JPY consolidates strongest gains in three weeks inside a choppy range near one-week top.
- Market sentiment remains sluggish amid a lack of major data, cautious mood ahead of the key events.
AUD/JPY picks up bids inside a 10-pip range, around 84.15 by the press time of the initial Asian session on Thursday. The quote marked the strongest run-up since late March the previous day amid broad gains in commodity currencies amid hopes of global economic recovery and the US dollar weakness. However, the pair’s latest inactivity could be traced to the “Wait and See” mood ahead of the key March employment data from Australia and a speech from Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda.
Japan’s downbeat Machinery Orders for February contrasted strong Aussie Westpac Consumer Confidence for April to fuel the AUD/JPY prices on Wednesday. Also helping the quote could be upbeat comments from the Fed policymakers concerning the economic growth as well as Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s appreciation to the nation’s consumer sentiment gauge.
Also on the positive side could be the removal of virus-led activity restrictions from Queensland and Sydney. On the contrary, BOJ Governor Kuroda’s comments that the risks to the economy and prices are skewed to the downside also favored the AUD/JPY prices.
On a broader front, vaccine jitters continue amid doubts over blood clotting on the use of Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Elsewhere, China pushes for talks with the US but The Sun highlights threats to American space researches from Beijing. Additionally, US-Turkey and Iran’s uranium ambition are extra challenges to the risks but hopes of further stimulus from the US and faster economic recovery amid unlocks from the key global economies help the sentiment.
Against this backdrop, S&P 500 Futures print mild gains whereas markets in Asia-Pacific await Tokyo’s open after Wall Street benchmarks stepped back from record high the previous day.
Moving on, BOJ Governor Kuroda is to speak about monetary policies in Tokyo while the Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the March month jobs report at 01:30 GMT. As BOJ’s Kuroda is less likely to alter his dovish tone, major attention will be given to the Aussie employment data for fresh impulse.
Read: Australian Employment Preview: Upbeat jobs data to provide tailwind to the aussie
Technical analysis
Not only a sustained bounce off 50-day SMA, around 83.25, but a clear upside break of one-month-old falling trend line also directs AUD/JPY towards the monthly top near 84.50.
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