Market Watch APAC – 11th March 2024
On Friday night, the US Non-farm Payrolls data has come in under expectations and pushed the US-dollar lower against most of the majors. US Non-farm Payrolls came in at 275k for February and unemployment unexpectedly rose to 3.9%. The US dollar was heavy against the G10 majors and the Canadian Dollar touched a one month high briefly, after the release of their jobs numbers. Aussie and Kiwi have been rewarded against the softer US-dollar, opening near 1% higher today. The AUDUSD will be looking to the local economy now, to ascertain whether the renewed momentum can be sustained, as it is so highly sensitive to growth and global trade conditions. China CPI released over the weekend came in better than expectations and this might help to deflect deflationary concerns, in turn offering some support to the Aussie Dollar. From a technical perspective , support for AUDUSD should now emerge at 0.6545/50, previous resistance, and further gains will be met with supply at the 0.6665/70 zone for the short-term.
Wall Street stocks eased back on profit taking after an earlier daily rally as investor expectations turned to a mid-year easing from the US Fed following a mixed labour report release. The DJI was down -0.2%, S&P500 shed -0.7% and the Nasdaq was down -1.2%. Australian shares are expected to open lower today, weighed down by underlying commodity prices that drive the mining and energy sectors.
Gold prices pushed higher on Friday, as investors sway their expectations that there will be a US rate cut by June following a rise in the US unemployment rate for February.
Copper prices softened for the day as traders took near-term profits from recent gains. Dalian Iron ore prices dropped over 1% to finish the week, as steel production eases and port-side inventories remain high.
Brent Crude prices fell 1.1%, as traders remain cautious over a softer China demand outlook, even in the wake of extended supply cuts out of the OPEC+ group.
| AUDUSD
Open today 0.6628 Yesterday’s Range 0.6613 / 0.6667 |
NZDUSD
Open today 0.6186 Yesterday’s Range 0.6162 / 0.6216 |
AUDNZD
Yesterday’s Range 1.0712 / 1.0747 |
| AUDEUR
Yesterday’s Range 0.6041 / 0.6082 |
AUDCNH
Yesterday’s Range 4.7621 / 4.7924 |
AUDGBP
Yesterday’s Range 0.5147 / 0.5183 |
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