AUD/USD – Little Movement as US Job Openings Shines

AUD/USD is stable on Tuesday, as the pair trades in the mid-0.81 range in the North American session. In the US, there was more good news on the employment front, as JOLTS Jobs Openings jumped to 4.97 million, well above expectations. There are no Australian releases on Tuesday.

US job numbers have looked sharp, and the trend continued on Tuesday, as JOLTS Jobs Openings climbed to 4.97 million, easily beating the forecast of 4.86 million. This is the indicator’s highest level since January 2001. The strong employment numbers are a welcome result of the robust economy, as the deepening recovery fuels demand for more workers. The health of the labor market is an important component of any decision to raise interest rates, so upcoming employment releases will be under the market microscope as the Fed mulls when to raise interest rates.

Australian data was mixed on Monday. ANZ Job Advertisements posted a gain of 1.8% in December, its best showing in six months. The news was less positive from the housing sector, as Home Loans came in at -0.7%, well off the estimate of a 1.8% gain. The indicator continues to sputter, and has posted three declines in its past four readings.

AUD/USD for Tuesday, January 13, 2015

AUD/USD January 13 at 15:00 GMT

AUD/USD 0.8144 H: 0.8198 L: 0.8128

AUD/USD Technical

• AUD/USD posted modest gains in the Asian session. The pair then made a sharp reversal in the European session, losing about 100 points and testing support at 0.8150. The pair is unchanged in the North American session.
• 0.8214 is an immediate resistance line.
• On the downside, 0.8150 is under strong pressure. 0.8081 is stronger.
• Current range: 0.8150 to 0.8214.

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 0.8081, 0.7904, 0.7799 and 0.7695
• Above: 0.8150, 0.8214, 0.8315, 0.8456 and 0.8547

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

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

AUD/USD Fundamentals

• 12:30 US NFIB Small Business Index. Estimate 98.6 points. Actual 110.4 points.
• 15:00 US JOLTS Jobs Openings. Estimate 4.86M. Actual 4.97M.
• 15:00 US IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism. Estimate 48.9 points. Actual 51.5 points.
• 18:01 US 10-year Bond Auction.
• 19:00 US Federal Budget Balance. Estimate 3.8B.

*Key releases are highlighted in bold

*All release times are GMT

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