• AUD/USD softened on Thursday after Australian labour-market data showed unemployment rising to its highest level since November 2021.
• Australian employment increased by 39.5K in August, comfortably exceeding the 20K market forecast. However, the unemployment rate climbed to 4.6% from expectations of 4.5%, suggesting that labour-market conditions are continuing to loosen despite solid job creation.
• Sentiment toward the Australian dollar was also pressured by geopolitical uncertainty, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian saying Tehran and Washington remain far apart in their peace negotiations.
• The lack of progress has kept markets focused on the risk of prolonged conflict and its implications for global energy supplies..
• Attention is now turning to the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy meeting on Tuesday. Markets widely anticipate a 25-basis-point rate hike, although the recent rise in unemployment and signs of softer labour-market conditions could influence the central bank's forward guidance.
• Immediate resistance is located at 0.7050(38.2%fib), any close above will push the pair towards 0.7116(Sep 23rd high).
• Support is seen at 0.7018(Lower BB) and break below could take the pair towards 0.6952(38.2%fib ).
Recommendation: Good to sell around 0.7050, with stop loss of 0.7100 and target price of 0.6980
