AUD/NZD sideways across key support ahead of Aussie jobs

• AUD/NZD consolidates in a bad time for commodity-FX.
• NZD underperformed on most crosses and the Aussie felt the pain of softer metal prices.

AUD/NZD is consolidating just above 1.05 as the price forms a topping zone between the 200-DMA and 1.0572 ahead of key events for both the bird and Aussie. At the time of writing, AUD/NZD is trading between 1.0525 and 1.0549 at 1.0526.

It was a bad day for commodity-FX and the complex as a whole as the US dollar picked up a safe-haven bid on deteriorating sentiment for both COVID-19 curve and the global economy.  The NZD underperformed on most crosses and the Aussie felt the pain of softer metal prices amid growing concerns that Chinese measures will struggle to offset the weakening economic growth around the world. Copper swooped lower and Iron ore futures were mixed as traders try to make sense of the economic backdrop. 

The IMF estimates $8 trillion has been spent by countries fighting COVID-19 and in its latest forecast for Asia, it states, “Asia’s economic growth this year will grind to a halt for the first time in 60 years, as the coronavirus crisis takes an ‘unprecedented’ toll on the region’s service sector and major export destinations,” as reported by Reuters. More on that here:

• IMF: Asia’s economic growth this year will grind to a halt for the first time in 60 years

Meanwhile, we have the AU employment data today at the top of the hour:

• When is the Australia unemployment rate and how could it affect AUD/USD?

AUD/NZD levels