AUD/USD: White House tightens import duties on metals
The AUD/USD pair is showing sideways dynamics at the level of 0.6272, reacting to the moderate growth of the US currency and ambiguous macroeconomic indicators from Australia.
Statistics on the construction sector in December turned out to be mixed: the total number of approved projects increased by 0.7% after falling by 3.4% a month earlier, reaching 15,174 thousand, but the figure for private homes decreased by 3.0%, falling to 8,715 thousand. At the same time, the cost of permits for non–residential buildings increased by 9.7%, from 6.18 billion to 6.62 billion Australian dollars, while in the residential segment there was a decrease of 0.9%, from 8.38 billion to 8.32 billion Australian dollars. The National Bank of Australia (NAB) business confidence index for January strengthened from -2.0 to 4.0 points, marking the highest since October, but did not have a noticeable impact on the pair's movement.
The US dollar maintains its position around 108.20 in USDX after the news about the upcoming introduction of 25.0% duties on steel and aluminum imports, which starts on March 4 without exceptions for any countries. According to President Donald Trump, this step should help strengthen domestic production and increase jobs in the industry. Investors have so far refrained from active trading decisions, awaiting today's speech by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. His first comment after the inauguration of the American leader may set a further direction for financial markets.
- Resistance levels: 0.6310, 0.6410.
- Support levels: 0.6240, 0.6140.
NZD/USD: unemployment reached 5.1% due to seasonal factors
The NZD/USD pair is consolidating near 0.5444, reacting to the local strengthening of the US dollar and disappointing macroeconomic data from New Zealand.
In December, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 5.1% from 4.8%, reflecting a deterioration in the situation among both men (4.9% versus 4.7%) and women (5.2% versus 5.0%). The total number of unemployed reached 156.0 thousand, which is 7.0 thousand more than in the third quarter. At the same time, employment decreased by 32.0 thousand people in annual terms, amounting to 2.916 million. The largest number of jobs decreased in the field of technical specialties (-22.6 thousand), the administrative sector (-20.4 thousand) and the transport industry (-17.0 thousand). Against the background of weak indicators, the probability of further easing of the monetary policy of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is increasing, which creates additional pressure on the exchange rate of the national currency.
- Support levels: 0.5620, 0.5520.
- Resistance levels: 0.5680, 0.5790.
USD/CAD: traders' attention is focused on employment statistics
The USD/CAD pair is correcting upward after a moderate decline the day before, trading around 1.4331: investors remain cautious, awaiting new comments from US President Donald Trump.
Traders are carefully analyzing the latest data on the US and Canadian labor markets for January. In the United States, the number of new jobs outside the agricultural sector decreased from 307.0 thousand to 143.0 thousand, which turned out to be worse than forecasts (170.0 thousand). The average hourly wage accelerated from 3.9% to 4.1% in annual terms, exceeding expectations of 3.8%, and from 0.3% to 0.5% on a monthly basis. At the same time, the unemployment rate decreased from 4.1% to 4.0%. The Canadian figures turned out to be stronger than expected: employment did not decrease as significantly as expected, falling from 91.0 thousand (revised from 90.9 thousand) to 76.0 thousand with a forecast of 25.0 thousand. The average hourly wage slowed from 3.8% to 3.7%, and the unemployment rate, contrary to expectations of an increase to 6.8%, decreased to 6.6% from 6.7% a month earlier.
- Resistance levels: 1.4350, 1.4400, 1.4435, 1.4471.
- Support levels: 1.4300, 1.4250, 1.4200, 1.4145.
USD/JPY: the pair is held at local lows
The US dollar is showing mixed dynamics in the USD/JPY pair, holding near the level of 152.00: traders are refraining from active actions, waiting for clarifications on Washington's trading strategy and new factors that can set the direction of the quotes movement.
Against this background, the yen is under pressure from weak Japanese macroeconomic statistics. In January, bank lending volumes increased by 3.0%, although analysts had expected 3.1%. The index of assessment of the current economic situation from Eco Watchers decreased from 49.0 to 48.6 points, while the forecast indicator was adjusted from 49.4 to 48.0 points. In addition, data on the balance of payments, excluding seasonal fluctuations, showed a significant decrease in December — from 3352.5 billion yen to 1077.3 billion yen, which turned out to be worse than market expectations (1362.0 billion yen).
An additional risk to the Japanese currency remains the country's colossal public debt, which is more than twice the size of the national economy, remaining the highest among developed countries. According to the Ministry of Finance, at the end of December it amounted to 1173.56 trillion yen in bonds, 46.88 trillion yen in loans and 97.20 trillion yen in promissory note financing. The sharp increase in spending on social support and the defense sector continues to exacerbate the debt burden, which limits the authorities' ability to maneuver financially.
- Resistance levels: 152.53, 153.27, 153.70, 154.50.
- Support levels: 151.50, 150.92, 150.50, 150.00.