Australian dollar loses ground, jobs report next

The Australian dollar has declined on Wednesday. In the North American session, AUD/USD is trading at 0.6441, down 0.45% on the day. This follows the Australian dollar's massive gains of 1.5% a day earlier.

Australia's wage growth accelerated in the first quarter. Annually, the Wage Price index gained 3.4%, up from 3.2% in Q4 2024 and above the market estimate of 3.2%. The gain was driven by stronger wage growth in the public sector. On a quarterly basis, wage growth rose 0.9% q/q, up from 0.7% and above the market estimate of 0.8%. This is the first time since Q2 2024 that annual wage growth has accelerated.

The higher-than-expected wage report comes before next week's Reserve Bank of Australia's rate decision. Currently, it looks like a coin toss as to whether the Reserve Bank will maintain or lower rates.

Australia's employment change expected to ease

Australia releases employment data on Thursday. Employment change is expected to ease to 20 thousand in April, down from 32.2 thousand in March. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 4.1%. The labor market has been cooling and if it continues to deteriorate, there will be pressure on the Reserve Bank to lower rates.

At last week's Federal Reserve meeting, Fed Chair Powell said that he would take a wait-and-see attitude in its rate policy. Trump's erratic tariff policy must be frustrating for the Fed, as it makes it difficult to make reliable growth and inflation forecasts.

This week's surprise announcement of a tariff deal between the US and China is a case in point at Trump's zig-zag trade policy. The two sides have been engaged in a bruising trade war and slapped massive tariffs on each other's products. Suddenly, the tariffs were slashed, leading to a sigh of relief in the financial markets. The deal is only for 90 days, and what happens then is very much up in the air.

• AUD/USD is testing support at 0.6440. Below, there is support at 0.6417
• There is resistance at 0.6476 and 0.6489