The Australian dollar was seen re-testing the familiar 0.7680 resistance level after prices previously pulled back falling to a 7-week low. The price action near 0.7680 remains critical as AUDUSD has chalked out a symmetrical triangle pattern with the possibility of a bullish breakout.
The Aussie managed to keep its gains despite the U.S. Federal Reserve hiking interest rates by 25 basis points at the March 15 meeting. The U.S. dollar fell on the widely publicized rate hike, and the Australian dollar managed to hold on to its gains, despite a weak unemployment report.
Unemployment rate hits a 14-month high
Australia’s latest labour market figures suggested weakness based on the report for the month of February.
Unemployment figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the unemployment rate hit a 14-month high in February as it rose to 5.9% and missed forecasts of staying flat at 5.7% during the month.
There were also some job losses during the reported period, which showed that 6,400 jobs were lost in February which was in contrast to the forecasts that was expecting to see 15,000 job gains.
The Australian dollar did not move much on the data as the U.S. dollar’s weakness managed to keep the Aussie buoyed. Economists were skeptical on the data cautioning not to read too much into one month’s report. However, the decline in the unemployment rate was no doubt worrying.
Australia’s underemployment rate, which measures the workers who are employed but willing to work more rose to record high of 8.7%, which indicated considerable slack in the economy.
Read more: https://www.orbex.com/blog/2017/03/expect-upside-audusd-breaks-triangle-pattern/