AUD/USD – Limited Movement Ahead of Business Confidence

AUD/USD is showing limited movement on Monday, as the pair trades at the 0.83 line. In Australia, ANZ Job Advertisements posted a respectable gain of 0.7% in November, jumping up from 0.2% a month earlier. Early on Tuesday, we’ll get a look at NAB Business Confidence, the key event of the week. In the US, today’s sole event is the Labor Market Conditions Index, a new economic indicator which the Federal Reserve introduced in October.

US employment data stole the show on Friday, as Nonfarm Payrolls shot up to 321 thousand in November, stunning the markets which had expected a rise of 231 thousand. There was also a rise in wages, which translate into stronger inflation numbers. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.8%, matching the forecast. The excellent Nonfarm Payrolls should help allay concerns about whether the economy can weather a rate increase in 2015.

Last week, Australian released GDP for the third quarter. The reading of 0.3% was short of expectations, as the estimate stood at 0.7%. This was the weakest reading we’ve seen since Q1 of 2011, and could point to trouble ahead for the Australian economy. Retail Sales slipped to 0.4%, down from 1.4% a month earlier. This points to weaker consumer spending, a key component of economic growth.

AUD/USD for Monday, December 8, 2014

AUD/USD December 8 at 14:10 GMT

AUD/USD 0.8301 L: 0.8324 H: 0.8260

 

AUD/USD Technical

S3 S2 S1 R1 R2 R3
0.8081 0.8150 0.8240 0.8315 0.8456 0.8550

 

  • AUD/USD edged lower in the Asian session but has recovered in European trade. The pair is unchanged in the North American session.
  • 0.8315 is a weak resistance line. 0.8456 is stronger.
  • 0.8240 is an immediate support level.
  • Current range: 0.8240 to 0.8315.

Further levels in both directions:

  • Below: 0.8240, 0.8150, 0.8081 and 0.7904
  • Above: 0.8315, 0.8456, 0.8550, 0.8668 and 0.8763

 

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

AUD/USD ratio is almost unchanged on Monday. This is consistent with the lack of movement of the pair. The ratio has a majority of long positions, indicative of trader bias towards AUD/USD moving higher.

AUD/USD Fundamentals

  • 00:30 Australian ANZ Job Advertisements. Estimate 0.7%.
  • 15:00 US Labor Markets Conditions Index.

*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.