AUD/NZD consolidates around 1.0770 as investors await Australian Employment data

• AUD/NZD pair is displaying a back-and-forth action around 1.0770 ahead of Australia’s labor market data.
• RBA Lowe has already confirmed at policymakers are anticipating a slowdown in the economy due to higher rates.
• The Antipodeans will remain in action ahead of the release of China’s international trade data.

The AUD/NZD pair is displaying a back-and-forth action around 1.0770 in the early Asian session. The cross has turned sideways as investors are awaiting the release of the Australian labor market data for fresh impetus.

As per the consensus, the Australian economy added 20K jobs in March lower than the former release of 64.6k. And the Unemployment Rate is expected to jump to 3.6% from the former release of 3.5%. Easing labor market conditions are expected to soften consumer inflation expectations as lower demand for labor will also impact the labor cost index.

This would also support the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in keeping its Official Cash Rate (OCR) steady at 3.60%. RBA Governor Philip Lowe has already confirmed at policymakers are anticipating a slowdown in the economy due to higher rates. Therefore, decelerating requirement for labor cannot be ruled out.

The Australian Dollar and the New Zealand Dollar will remain in action ahead of the release of China’s international trade data. The street is expecting a deep contraction in exports and imports figures ahead. Also, the Trade Balance data (USD) is expected to plunge to $39.2B vs. the former release of $116.8B.

It is worth noting that Australia and New Zealand are one of the leading trading partners of China and weaker international trade figures from China would impact the currencies of antipodeans.

The New Zealand Dollar remained in action last week after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) hiked rates by 50 basis points (bps) surprisingly while the street was anticipating a 25 bps rate hike. RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr looked for a bigger rate hike as inflationary pressures are not showing evidence of softening despite the continuation of quantitative tightening.