AUD/USD faces some selling pressure to near 0.6250 amid trade war threat

• AUD/USD weakens to around 0.6245 in Monday’s early Asian session. 
• Trump announced a 25% tariff on steel, aluminum imports.
• US Nonfarm Payrolls rose by 143,000 in January vs. 170,000 expected. 

The AUD/USD pair attracts some sellers to near 0.6245 during the early Asian session on Monday. The US Dollar (USD) edges higher amid the fear of a trade war threat. 

Trump said on Friday he plans to announce reciprocal tariffs on many countries by Monday or Tuesday, without specifying which countries. Additionally, Trump stated on Sunday that he plans to impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the US on Monday, and Australia will not be exempt. The new tariffs might hit Australian exports and exert some selling pressure on the Australian dollar (AUD), though it is not yet clear when the new taxes will be imposed.

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) is now expected to keep interest rates on hold this year after the January jobs data showed that U.S. job growth slowed in January but that the Unemployment Rate ticked lower. This, in turn, supports the Greenback and acts as a headwind for AUD/USD. 

Data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday showed that Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) in the US rose by 143,000 in January, compared to the 307,000 increase (revised from 256,000) seen in December. This figure came in below the market expectation of 170,000. Meanwhile,  the Unemployment Rate edged lower to 4% in January from 4.1% in December. Finally, annual wage inflation, as measured by the change in the Average Hourly Earnings, climbed 4.1% YoY in January, surpassing the market expectation of 3.8%.