AUD/USD holds above 0.6500 ahead of the Australian Employment data

• AUD/USD moves sideways around 0.6509 on the US mixed data. 
• US Retail Sales for October declined 0.1% MoM vs. 0.9% rise prior; the PPI figure fell 0.5% MoM vs. 0.4% rise prior. 
• Geopolitical risks remain in focus as China President Xi Jinping meets US President Joe Biden.
• Investors will monitor the Australian Employment data, US Initial Jobless Claims.

The AUD/USD pair trades sideways during the early Asian session on Thursday. Market players await the Australian Employment data for fresh impetus, which is expected to add 20,000 jobs in October. The pair reached 0.6542 before edging lower to 0.6509, adding 0.04% on the day. 

The US Retail Sales for October came in better than expected, declining by 0.1% MoM from a 0.9% rise in the previous reading, better than the market consensus of a 0.3% fall. Retail Sales Control Group rose by 0.2% MoM versus 0.7% prior. Additionally, the US Producer Price Index (PPI) fell 0.5% MoM from the previous month of 0.4% rise, a worse than expected 0.1% increase. On an annual basis, the PPI figure dropped to 1.3% from 2.2% in October. 

The economic data support the view that the Federal Reserve (Fed) is done with its tightening cycle and federal fund rates have priced in the rate cut in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024. 

On the Aussie front, the Australian headline Wage Price Index for the third quarter (Q3) rose by 1.3% QoQ versus 1.3% expected and 0.8% prior, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed Wednesday. Annually, the Aussie Wage Price Index arrived at 4.0% versus the market’s estimation of 3.9% figure for the said period and the previous reading of 3.6%.

Furthermore, geopolitical risks will be in focus as China President Xi Jinping meets US President Joe Biden. The renewed tension between the the world’s two largest economies might exert some selling pressure on the China-proxy currency Australian Dollar (AUD) and boost the safe-haven US Dollar (USD) demand. 

Looking forward, the Australian Employment data for October will be released later on Thursday, including the Employment Change and the Unemployment Rate. On the US docket, the US Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending November 10 will be due. These figures could give a clear direction to the AUD/USD pair.