Aussie Dollar Plunges Despite Below-Average US Job Data

The Australian Dollar (AUD) inched lower against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday, decreasing the price of AUDUSD to less than 0.7900 following some key economic releases. The technical bias shall remain bullish because of a higher high in the ongoing upside move.

AUD/USD Technical Analysis

As of this writing, the pair is being traded around 0.7851. A support can be noted around 0.7700, an immediate horizontal support ahead of 0.7750 the psychological number and then 0.7667, another key horizontal support as demonstrated in the given below chart.

On the upside, a hurdle can be noted near 0.8024, an immediate horizontal resistance level ahead of 0.8100, the psychological level and then 0.8249, the high of the last major upside rally as demonstrated in the given below chart. The technical bias shall remain bullish as long as the 0.7667 support area is intact.

US Jobless Claims

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits dropped to its lowest level in more than 44-1/2 years last week, pointing to a rebound in job growth after a hurricane-related decline in employment in September.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 222,000 for the week ended Oct. 14, the lowest level since March 1973, the Labor Department said. But the decrease in claims, which was the largest since April, was probably exaggerated by the Columbus Day holiday on Monday.

Claims are declining as the impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma washes out of the data. The hurricanes, which lashed Texas, Florida and the Virgin Islands, boosted claims to an almost three-year high of 298,000 at the start of September.

Trade Idea

Considering the overall technical and fundamental outlook, selling the pair around current levels may be a good strategy in short to medium term.