AUDUSD refreshes daily top near 0.6750 on strong Australia employment statistics

• AUDUSD ticked to refresh intraday high before being sidelined on upbeat Aussie jobs report for October.
• Australia Employment Change rose by 32.2K, Unemployment Rate declined to 3.4%.
• Sluggish markets, mixed Fedspeak challenge momentum traders.
• Second-tier US data, risk catalysts will be crucial for clear directions.

AUDUSD renews its intraday high around 0.6750 after Aussie employment data printed upbeat outcomes for October.

The employment statistics gained an additional edge to lure buyers, especially after the previous day’s strong Wage Price Index from Canberra. It should be noted, however, that sluggish markets and recently dovish signals from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) seem to challenge the pair buyers of late.

That said, Australia’s Employment Change jumped by 32.2K versus 15K market forecasts and 0.9K prior whereas the Unemployment Rate dropped to 3.4% from 3.5% previous readings and 3.6% expected.

Also read: Aussie jobs beats expectations in headline and Unemployment Rate, AUD bullish

Elsewhere, a tug of war between the US Republicans and Democrats in the Midterm Elections seems to keep the traders on their toes as President Joe Biden’s Party wins House control by a narrow margin whereas Donald Trump braces for 2024 elections with the aim to be the US President.

Additionally, mixed comments from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) officials also weigh on the market sentiment, despite strong US Retail Sales. Kansas City Fed President Esther George and Fed Governor Christopher Waller both favored smaller increases in the benchmark rates going forward whereas San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly mentioned challenges to the US economy growth.

It’s worth observing that worsening Covid conditions in China and an absence of imminent tussle between the West and Russia, due to the Poland fiasco, also challenge the market’s mood.

Above all, hopes of slower rate hikes and a lack of major negatives, at least for now, keep the stock buyers cautiously optimistic in Asia while the US Treasury yields remain pressured.

Having witnessed the initial reaction to Australia’s monthly jobs report, the AUDUSD pair traders should pay attention to the risk catalysts amid mixed concerns in the market.

In doing so, Covid headlines from China, the Russia-Ukraine tension and comments from the Federal Reserve officials will be crucial. Additionally important will be the second-tier US data like the Weekly Jobless Claims and Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey for November.

Technical analysis

Despite the latest pullback, a downward sloping trend line from late April, previous resistance around 0.6730, precedes the 100-DMA level of 0.6700 to challenge short-term AUDUSD downside.