AUD/USD – Strong Gains By Aussie Despite Weak Business Confidence Numbers

The US dollar is broadly lower in Tuesday trading, and the Australian dollar has jumped on the bandwagon, barreling above the 0.93 line. In economic news, Australian NAB Business Confidence dropped to its lowest level since July. In the US, the major event of the day is JOLTS Jobs Openings.

The Australian dollar is enjoying strong gains on Tuesday, and shrugged off a weak NAB Business Confidence release. The key indicator dropped to 4 points in March, sliding to an eight-month low. We’ll get a look at Westpac Consumer Confidence early on Wednesday. Meanwhile, ANZ Job Advertisements posted a gain of 1.4% in March. This was well below the previous release, which saw a sharp jump of 5.1%. Still, the markets were pleased as the employment indicator has posted mostly declines for over a year, pointing to trouble in the employment market.

US Non-Farm Payrolls rose nicely last in March, climbing to 192 thousand, compared to 175 thousand a month earlier. However, the markets were looking for more, with the estimate standing at 199 thousand. Unemployment Claims also fell short of the estimate, as it remained unchanged at 6.7%. Although these numbers were not as strong as hoped, the Federal Reserve is expected to continue trimming QE when it meets at the end of April. These tapers mark a vote of confidence in the US economy by the Federal Reserve, and are dollar-positive.

AUD/USD for Tuesday, April 8, 2014

AUD/USD April 7 at 14:00 GMT

AUD/USD 0.9340 H: 0.9350 L: 0.9266

AUD/USD Technical

• AUD/USD has posted strong gains on Tuesday. The pair touched punched past the 0.93 line early in the European session.
• 0.9229 is providing support. This line has strengthened as the Aussie trades at higher levels. The next support level is 0.9119.
• 0.9361 is providing weak resistance. This line could break if the Aussie continues to point higher. There is stronger resistance at 0.9446.
• Current range: 0.9229 to 0.9361

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 0.9229, 0.9119, 0.9000, 0.8893 and 0.8735
• Above: 0.9361, 0.9446, 0.9542 and 0.9617

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

AUD/USD ratio is pointing to strong gains in long positions on Tuesday, reversing the trend we saw a day earlier. This is consistent with what we are seeing from the pair, as the Australian dollar has posted significant gains. AUD/USD ratio is showing a majority of long positions, indicating trader bias towards AUD/USD moving higher.

The Australian dollar continues to look sharp on Tuesday, posting strong gains. AUD/USD is steady in the North American session.

AUD/USD Fundamentals

• 13:30 Australian NAB Business Confidence. Actual 4 points.
• 11:30 US NFIB Small Business Index. Estimate 92.3 points. Actual 93.4 points.
• 14:00 US JOLTS Job Openings. Estimate 3.99M.
• 17:30 US FOMC Member Narayana Kocherlakota Speaks.
• 18:45 US FOMC Member Charles Plosser Speaks.

*Key releases are highlighted in bold

*All release times are GMT

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.