When is the Australian employment report and how could it affect AUD/USD?

April month employment statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, up for publishing at 01:30 GMT on Thursday, will be the immediate catalyst for the AUD/USD pair traders.

Market consensus suggests that the headline Unemployment Rate may remain unchanged at 3.5% on a seasonally adjusted whereas the Employment Change could ease by 25.0K versus the previous addition of 53.0K. Further, the Participation Rate is expected to remain unchanged at 66.7% during the stated month.

Considering the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) hawkish surprise and the recently mixed Australia Wage Price Index data, today’s Aussie inflation expectations and employment numbers appear more important for the AUD/USD pair.

Ahead of the event, FXStreet’s Matias Salord mentioned,

How could the data affect AUD/USD?

AUD/USD picks up bids to defend the previous day’s rebound from a two-week low even as the buyers appear to lack the strength of late, especially due to the pre-data anxiety. It’s worth noting that the US Dollar’s retreat amid a sluggish session and hopes of upbeat Aussie data seem to favor the risk barometer pair’s recent mildly positive performance.

That said, today’s Australian employment report for April is less likely to work as a positive catalyst for the AUD/USD unless posting an extremely upbeat outcome. The reason could be linked to the market’s favor for the US Dollar amid hopes of no US default and recently hawkish Federal Reserve (Fed) commentary. However, a knee-jerk reaction to the top-tier statistic can’t be ruled out.

Technically, a daily closing beyond convergence of the 21-DMA and 10-DMA, near 0.6685 at the latest, becomes necessary for the AUD/USD bulls to keep the reins. That said, repeated failures to cross 0.6700 keeps the pair sellers hopeful of visiting an upward-sloping support line from early March, close to 0.6610 at the latest.

Key Notes

AUD/USD rebound approaches 0.6700 as US default fears ease, Australia employment eyed

Australian Employment Change Preview: Another strong report? 

AUD/USD Price Analysis: Bulls are shaping up a case for a move higher

About the Employment Change

The Employment Change released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is a measure of the change in the number of employed people in Australia. Generally speaking, a rise in this indicator has positive implications for consumer spending which stimulates economic growth. Therefore, a high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the AUD, while a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).

About the Unemployment Rate

The Unemployment Rate released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is the number of unemployed workers divided by the total civilian labor force. If the rate hikes, indicates a lack of expansion within the Australian labor market. As a result, a rise leads to weaken the Australian economy. A decrease of the figure is seen as positive (or bullish) for the AUD, while an increase is seen as negative (or bearish).