AUD/USD Advances on Fifth Rate Hike

There were many doubts about this move. When it did happen, the Australian dollar reacted with a leap. The Aussie is now better positioned towards the next big release this week and could go over the top. Update on this strong currency.

After last week’s disappointing Australian figures, there were doubts about this move. It seemed that the Australian economy relaxed and there was time for another pause. But Glenn Stevens followed this hints:

The RBA raised the Australian Cash Rate from 4% to 4.25%. This is the 5th rate hike since the global crisis began. Since the first move, there was only one pause – between the third and the fourth moves.

This move sent AUD/USD from 0.9170 to 0.92, a small initial gap for starters, before advancing to 0.9230. Before the decision, the Aussie weakened on fear that the central bank will leave the rates unchanged. We will probably see more action as the London session opens for the first time after Easter.

Above 0.9190, AUD/USD is now aiming for the high of March at 0.9250. This is a stepping stone on the way to the bigger hurdle – 0.9327 – a line that was approached many times in recent months and almost always worked successfully as a resistance line.

In the one time it was broken, the Aussie reached 0.94, the 2009 high.  If the Aussie bulls relax again, 0.9090 provides immediate support, followed by 0.8980.

Note that the Aussie is strong also against other currencies. EUR/AUD fell to a new all-time low – 1.4543. The pair ticked down on Euro weakness, but made the break to fresh low ground on the Australian rate decision.

Job figures ahead

On Thursday at 1:30 GMT, Australia’s job figures are released. We got a hint for that as well: the ANZ Job Advertisements, which counts the number of jobs in newspapers, showed a rise of 1.8%. This can indicate nice job gains.

Employment Change is currently expected to show a gain of 20,000 jobs. The unemployment rate will probably remain unchanged at 5.3%. We’ve seen several surprises in the job figures in the past. These are very important figures for the Aussie.

Will the job figures send the Aussie over the top?

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