Home AUD/USD: Trading the Australian jobs April 2014
Opinions

AUD/USD: Trading the Australian jobs April 2014

Australian Employment Change, which is released monthly, provides a snapshot of the health of the Australian employment market. A reading which is higher than the market forecast is bullish for the Australian dollar.

Here are the details and 5 possible outcomes for AUD/USD.

Published on Thursday at 1:30 GMT.

Indicator Background

Job creation is one of the most important leading indicators of overall economic activity. Thus, the release of Employment Change  is a market-mover which can affect the movement of AUD/USD.

Employment Change continues to show sharp fluctuations.  After two declines, the indicator surged in February, posting a gain of 47.3 thousand. This easily beat the estimate of 15.3 thousand. The markets are expecting another gain in the March release, with an estimate standing at 7.3 thousand. Will the indicator again beat the estimate?

Sentiment and Levels

The RBA has not been  shy  about the fact that it wants to see the Aussie  below the 0.90 level, and we can expect the RBA to continue to try and  “talk down” the currency. In the US, market sentiment remains positive about the economy and recent US employment numbers have been decent, although not as high as the markets had expected.  The US dollar  has room to move higher  if upcoming US numbers don’t disappoint.  So, the overall sentiment is bearish on AUD/USD towards this release.

Technical levels from top to bottom: 0.9526, 0.9442, 0.9368, 0.9283,  0.9180 and 0.9000.

5 Scenarios

  1. Within expectations: 4.0K to 10.0K: In this scenario, AUD/USD could show some slight  fluctuation, but it is likely to remain within range, without breaking any levels.
  2. Above expectations: 10.1K to 14.0K: A strong reading could push the pair above one resistance level.
  3. Well above expectations: Above 14.0K: A sharp rise in employment numbers could propel AUD/USD upwards, and a second resistance line could be broken.
  4. Below expectations: 1.0K to 3.9K: A lower than expected reading could pull the pair  downwards, with one support level at risk.
  5. Well below expectations: Below 1.0K: A very poor reading will likely hurt confidence in the  Australian economy  and  AUD/USD could break below a second support  level.

For more on the Aussie, see the AUD/USD forecast.

To follow this event live:     [do action=”calendar-event” eventid=”9ff4533a-0a0d-467e-af83-7e703f76777c”/]

Kenny Fisher

Kenny Fisher

Kenny Fisher - Senior Writer A native of Toronto, Canada, Kenneth worked for seven years in the marketing and trading departments at Bendix, a foreign exchange company in Toronto. Kenneth is also a lawyer, and has extensive experience as an editor and writer.