The AUD/USD been trending lower, but that appears to have ended thanks to a better than expected jobs report.

In December, Australia created 21.5K new jobs vs 18K expected. While the official unemployment rate fell to 5.0% vs 5.1% expected.

This is a strong set of data points and the AUD/USD is pushing up around 0.3%.

Many had expected a strong number as much of the second tier employment data on jobs ads etc has been quite strong. That’s despite some economic headwinds, including a falling housing market and weak retail sales.

So to see a beat here is quite bullish.

Aussie Outlook

The AUD/USD has held the major level at 0.7200 and never quite fell as far at 0.7100. The real test will be to see if we can get any additional follow through on this number.

Australian equities are higher today, but only marginally. So while the number was a beat, it wasn’t massive like we’ve seen in the past.

The key support below is 0.7050 and then 0.7000.

0.7300 is R2 and the most recent highs sitting at 0.7400.