AUDUSD Faces Resistance After the FOMC and Australian Employment

The Australian dollar (AUD) had rebounded from support after initially falling earlier this month, gaining 1.5 cents. However, it has stalled at the 20-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) as traders await the outcome of the FOMC meeting and today’s Australian jobs report.

The AUD experienced strong upward movement in August but struggled to hold above the 0.68 resistance level, leading to a shift in control to sellers. At the beginning of September, a notable bearish reversal occurred, with the price dropping to 0.66 lows yesterday. Despite this, the recent bullish momentum diminished as the Fed’s potential rate cut probabilities (ranging from 25 to 50 basis points) balanced out, prompting USD buyers to re-enter the market. As a result, the AUD/USD pair has been consolidating near the 20-day SMA (gray) on the daily chart.

Australian Employment Report for August

• Unemployment Rate: 4.2%, matching expectations and unchanged from the prior month’s rate of 4.2%.
• Employment Growth: +47.5k jobs added, surpassing the expected +25.0k but lower than the previous month’s +58.2k increase.
• Participation Rate: Steady at 67.1%, in line with both expectations and the prior month’s figure.
• Full-Time Employment: Declined by -3.1k, a notable drop compared to the prior month’s strong gain of +60.5k.
• Hours Worked: Increased by +0.4% month-on-month and +1.7% year-on-year, indicating steady demand for labor despite the decline in full-time employment.

The overall report shows continued job creation, though the drop in full-time employment raises some caution. The labor market remains stable, with unemployment and participation rates holding steady.

AUD/USD Live Chart