AUD/USD chart - Trading View
- AUD/USD edges lower from fresh 3-week highs at 0.7168, trades at 0.7145 at 0445 GMT.
- Aussie buoyed by a surprise drop in Australia jobless rate. Also supporting upside in the pair was a dovish FOMC outcome overnight.
- Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Australia's jobless rate fell to near 8-year low of 4.9 percent in Feb against expectations to hold steady at 5 percent.
- The Fed kept interest rate unchanged as expected, signaled no rate hikes for the rest of the year, downgraded growth forecasts and announced the balance sheet reduction program will end in September.
- Upside remains capped at daily cloud at 0.7172. The pair also finds stiff resistance at 110-EMA at 0.7163.
- Despite the drop in jobless rate, Australia's labor market showed weakness in February.
- Full-time jobs dropped 7.3K, having surged 65.4K in January. Labor force participation rate fell to 65.6 percent from the previous month's print of 65.7 percent.
- The RBA was looking to the labor market to cushion the impact of a slowdown in the property market. The data could now raise the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut by August.
- Major trend in the pair is bearish. Retrace below 55-EMA could see resumption of weakness.
- Decisive breakout at cloud top could see upside till 200-DMA at 0.7220.
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