• AUD/USD rose higher on Thursday after robust monthly employment data dimmed hopes of near-term interest rate cuts.
• Australian employment jumped in October, driven by an increase in full-time hires, pushing the unemployment rate down from a four-year high and reinforcing the view that the current easing cycle might be nearing its end.
• Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed that net employment increased by 42,200 in October, up from 12,700 in September. This significantly exceeded market expectations of a 20,000 gain and was driven by a 55,300 rise in full-time positions.
• The participation rate remained unchanged at 67%, while total hours worked increased by a solid 0.5%. Most importantly, the unemployment rate fell to 4.3% from 4.5%, which had been the highest level since November 2021.
• Markets swiftly reduced expectations for further policy easing by the Reserve Bank of Australia next year, with the probability of a May rate cut plummeting to 25%, down from nearly 70% prior to the release of the data..
• Immediate resistance is located at 0.6574(38.2%fib), any close above will push the pair towards 0.6602(Higher BB).
• Support is seen at 0.625 (SMA 20) and break below could take the pair towards 0.6471(50%fib).
Recommendation: Good to buy around 0.6540, with stop loss of 0.6480 and target price of 0.6650
