Australian job figure were inline with expectations. This was enough for the Aussie against the Euro, but not against the greenback. Update on the Aussie.
Background: earlier this week, the Australian central bank, RBA, raised the rates to 4.25%, far higher than the rest of the world. Some analysts anticipated this move, but there was no consensus. The Aussie moved higher, breaking above March 17th high 0f 0.9250, and getting close to the ultimate resistance line of 0.9327. A surprise in job figures could push it higher. But something else happened:
The second major release for this week was only OK – not even slightly better. The Australian employment change figure showed a gain of 19,600, almost perfectly matching the early expectations. The downside was a revision of last month’s number to a loss of 4,700, down from a gain of 400 jobs. This downside revision wasn’t too bad, but didn’t contribute to rises.
The second figure was also inline with expectations – unemployment rate remained at 5.3%, exactly as expected.
AUD/USD reaction and technical lines
AUD/USD initially reacted with a small rise from 0.9260 to 0.9280, but this didn’t last. The dollar bulls came out in the London session and sent the pair down to 0.9240. At least these levels are above the ones seen before the rate hike.
It’s important to note that this small drop comes on the dollar strength and not on the Aussie’s weakness. The Australian dollar is enjoying strength against the Euro – a new record low below 1.44.
The levels to watch are 0.9190 which is a minor support line, followed by the 0.9090 line which has proved to be a stronger one. The next line of support is at 0.8980, a swing low.
Looking up, 0.9250 is a notable line, but has been quite shattered. 0.93, being a round number and the high figure that the pair reached yesterday, is another small hurdle. The big hurdle is 0.9327 – a line that the Aussie failed to breach many times.
There are no major Australian events until the end of the week. AUD/USD will continue to move according to US dollar bulls and bears, until next week’s Australian figures.
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