- AUD/JPY rises for the fifth consecutive day after upbeat employment data from Australia.
- Australia’s Wage Price Index grew better than forecast 0.3% QoQ during fourth-quarter (Q4).
- Risks dwindle as Fed’s Powell failed to placate bond bears, vaccine optimism also fails to tame the cautious mood.
- US stimulus gridlock continues, Japan is up for removing emergency from seven prefectures earlier than planned.
AUD/JPY rallies to the intraday high of 83.45, up 0.10% on a day, while cheering welcome Wage Price Index for Australia during Wednesday’s Asian session. In doing so, the quote marks a five-day uptrend while staying near the highest since December 2018.
Australia’s Q4 Wage Price Index grew past-0.3% forecast and 0.1% prior to +0.6% QoQ. The key economic data also reprint 1.4% figures for YoY versus downbeat expectations of 1.1%. Further details suggest, Construction Work Done dropped below 1.0% market consensus but recovered from -1.8% upward sly revised prior.
Given the mostly strong data, Australian dollar buyers gained extra support to keep their north-run direction towards the 2018 highs.
However, the latest shift in the market’s mood seems to challenge the AUD/JPY bulls. Wall Street closed mixed and the US 10-year Treasury yields struggled for further traction to the north after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell cited fears of coronavirus (COVID-19)-led economic slowdown. However, the Fed’s readiness to extend easy money policies and tame the reflation fears seemed to have probed the risk-off mood.
As a result, S&P 500 Futures recovers early Asian losses while trying to regain the 3,900 threshold, currently around 3,875. Further, the US 10-year Treasury yields drop 1.6 basis points (bps) 1.348% by press time. It should be noted that Japan’s Nikkei 225 mark near 1.0% losses after the previous day’s holiday whereas Australia’s ASX 200 also drop 0.40% amid cautious optimism.
Other than Powell, AstraZeneca’s news of 94% success in reducing hospitalization and Japan’s readiness to take back virus-led restrictions from seven prefectures seemed to have helped the risks off-late.
Looking forward, Powell’s testimony 2.0 and updates concerning the US covid stimulus will be the key amid a light calendar.
Technical analysis
Bulls can keep eyes on the December 2018 peak surrounding 83.90 unless the quote drops back below January tops of 80.92.
Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers. The author will not be held responsible for information that is found at the end of links posted on this page.
If not otherwise explicitly mentioned in the body of the article, at the time of writing, the author has no position in any stock mentioned in this article and no business relationship with any company mentioned. The author has not received compensation for writing this article, other than from FXStreet.
FXStreet and the author do not provide personalized recommendations. The author makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of this information. FXStreet and the author will not be liable for any errors, omissions or any losses, injuries or damages arising from this information and its display or use. Errors and omissions excepted.
The author and FXStreet are not registered investment advisors and nothing in this article is intended to be investment advice.
Recommended content
Editors’ Picks
AUD/USD risks a deeper drop in the short term
AUD/USD rapidly left behind Wednesday’s decent advance and resumed its downward trend on the back of the intense buying pressure in the greenback, while mixed results from the domestic labour market report failed to lend support to AUD.
EUR/USD leaves the door open to a decline to 1.0600
A decent comeback in the Greenback lured sellers back into the market, motivating EUR/USD to give away the earlier advance to weekly tops around 1.0690 and shift its attention to a potential revisit of the 1.0600 neighbourhood instead.
Gold is closely monitoring geopolitics
Gold trades in positive territory above $2,380 on Thursday. Although the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield holds steady following upbeat US data, XAU/USD continues to stretch higher on growing fears over a deepening conflict in the Middle East.
Bitcoin price shows strength as IMF attests to spread and intensity of BTC transactions ahead of halving
Bitcoin (BTC) price is borderline strong and weak with the brunt of the weakness being felt by altcoins. Regarding strength, it continues to close above the $60,000 threshold for seven weeks in a row.
Is the Biden administration trying to destroy the Dollar?
Confidence in Western financial markets has already been shaken enough by the 20% devaluation of the dollar over the last few years. But now the European Commission wants to hand Ukraine $300 billion seized from Russia.