AUD/USD – Aussie Starts Off Week Under Pressure

AUD/USD is coming off an excellent week as the Aussie posted gains of about 150 points. However, the pair has posted slight losses, as the pair trades in the mid-0.92 line early in Monday’s North American session. In economic news, ANZ Job Advertisements posted a second straight gain after a host of deficits. There is just one US release on the schedule, Consumer Credit.

Australian ANZ Job Advertisements posted a gain of 1.4% in March. This was well below the previous release, which saw a sharp jump of 5.1%. Still, the markets were pleased as the employment indicator has posted mostly declines for over a year, pointing to trouble in the employment market. Early Tuesday, we’ll get a look at Business Confidence, the first major event of the week.

On Friday, all eyes were on US Non-Farm Payrolls, one of the most important economic indicators. The indicator rose nicely last in March, climbing to 192 thousand, compared to 175 thousand a month earlier. However, the markets were looking for more, with the estimate standing at 199 thousand. The Unemployment Rate also missed the mark, as it edged up to 6.7%. The estimate stood at 6.6%. Although these numbers were not as strong as hoped, the Federal Reserve is expected to continue trimming QE when it meets at the end of April.

 

AUD/USD for Monday, April 7, 2014

Forex Rate Graph 21/1/13

AUD/USD April 7 at 14:30 GMT

AUD/USD 0.9266 H: 0.9296 L: 0.9254

 

AUD/USD Technical

S3 S2 S1 R1 R2 R3
0.9000 0.9119 0.9229 0.9361 0.9446 0.9542

 

  • AUD/USD has posted slight losses on Monday. The pair touched a high of 0.9296 early in the European session.
  • 0.9229 is providing weak support. The next support level is 0.9119.
  • 0.9361 is providing strong resistance.
  • Current range: 0.9229 to 0.9361

Further levels in both directions:

  • Below: 0.9229, 0.9119, 0.9000, 0.8893 and 0.8735
  • Above: 0.9361, 0.9466, 0.9542 and 0.9617

 

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

AUD/USD ratio is pointing to gains in short positions in Monday trading. This is consistent with what we are seeing from the pair, as the Australian dollar has posted slight losses. AUD/USD ratio is almost evenly split between long and short positions, indicating a lack of trader bias towards what direction AUD/USD will take.

The Australian dollar is steady in the North American session. With no major releases out of the US, it could be an uneventful day for the pair.

 

AUD/USD Fundamentals

  • 13:30 Australian ANZ Job Advertisements. Actual 1.4%.
  • 19:00 US Consumer Credit. Estimate 14.1B.

*Key releases are highlighted in bold

*All release times are GMT

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.

Kenny Fisher

Kenny Fisher

Market Analyst at OANDA
A highly experienced financial market analyst with a focus on fundamental analysis, Kenneth Fisher’s daily commentary covers a broad range of markets including forex, equities and commodities. His work has been published in several major online financial publications including Investing.com, Seeking Alpha and FXStreet. Based in Israel, Kenny has been a MarketPulse contributor since 2012.