The USD was little moved in the Asian session. This comes after the Labor department released jobs numbers that were better than expected. In January, the economy created more jobs than had earlier been expected. For a second month in a row, the numbers came above the 300K mark. The unemployment rate climbed a little to 4.0% while the average hourly earnings and the average number of weekly hours remained unchanged.
The Australian dollar moved down against the USD as investors wait for a major government report on banks. The report was recommended by the government and headed by a former senior judge to examine the ills of the financial sector. This report will focus on the big banks, large pension funds, insurers, and regulators in the sector. The recommendations could lead to shocks in the financial sector, which is dominated by a few powerful companies. Over the past 11 months of the inquiry, these companies have shed more than $43 billion in market value.
The price of crude oil remained at Friday’s highs. The jump on Friday came as the United States toughened the sanctions already in place on Venezuela. In recent weeks, the country has been in turmoil after the head of parliament declared himself President and got the support of the international community. The small Latin country matters because it has the biggest oil reserves in the world. Just last week, the country’s leaders tried to sell more than 20 tons of gold, a move that was rejected by the United States.
EUR/USD
The EUR/USD pair was little unchanged in the Asian session. The pair is trading at 1.1448, which is still lower than last week’s high of 1.1515. This price is along the short and medium-term EMAs while the RSI is headed lower. The Parabolic SAR shows that the pair could continue the downward momentum. There is a likelihood that the pair will move lower, potentially to the 1.1400 level as traders focus on the EU weakness.
AUD/CAD
The AUD/CAD continued the downward trend started on Thursday when the pair reached a high of 0.9580. Today, it reached a low of 0.9468, which is a bit higher from Friday’s low of 0.9467. The pair’s price is below all the major moving averages as shown below. The RSI too has continued to remain close to the overbought level of 30. The pair is along the lower line of the Bollinger Band. There is a likelihood that the pair will continue the downward trend.
GBP/USD
The GBP/USD pair was relatively unmoved today as investors wait for a number of key meetings between Theresa May and the European Union leaders. The pair remained along the 1.3080 level, which is also where the short and long-term moving averages are. The main technical indicators show that the pair could move in either direction today.
