AUD/USD under pressure as Putin plans to sign Ukraine separatist recognition

• AUD/USD bears moving in on risks associated with the Kremlin.
• Aussie wages are a focus for the week ahead. 

AUD/USD is under pressure as the Kremlin announces that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin plans to sign Ukraine separatist recognition. At the time of writing, AUD/USD is sliding a handful of pips below the 0.72 figure with the swing lows of 0.7192 eyed ahead of 0.7165. 

Putin is due to address the nation at any moment which is leaving markets on edge. He is expected to say that he has signed a separatist recognition decree over eastern Ukraine regions which will be another step closer to the prospects of a European war and hurt risk associated asset classes in financial markets. 

Meanwhile, NATO leaders and the West will be expected to retaliate with sanctions and such announcements will follow shortly. EU's Josep Borrell said, ''if there is a recognition I will put the sanctions on the table for ministers to decide.''

The US is also prepared to impose swift and severe consequences if Russia invades Ukraine, with the White House noting and stating that Russia appears to continue preparations for a full-scale assault on Ukraine very soon. Biden's administration has already prepared an initial package of sanctions that include barring US financial institutions from processing transactions for major Russian banks. A G7 meeting is also due to take place this Thursday, a White House spokesman said.

Meanwhile, in Australia, the main domestic event will be wages data for the December quarter. Forecasts expect a rise of 0.7% to take the annual pace up to 2.4%, from 2.2%. ''That would be the fastest annual gain since late 2014, though still short of the 3%-plus the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) wants to see,'' Reuters reported.

''The RBA has said it is plausible a rate rise could come later this year, while markets are fully priced for a move to 0.25% by June.'' Analysts at TD securities argued that ''if wages surprise above 2.5% YoY, AU rates is likely to underperform as the markets test the RBA's dovish stance.''

AUD/USD technical analysis

The price is on the verge of a significant test of the trendline support on the hourly chart. 0.7192 guards the prospects of a run to the prior swing lows of 0.7165.