Forecast: Australian unemployment rate set to fall

NEW YORK (Forex News Now) – The Australian Bureau of Statistics is due on Thursday to publish monthly unemployment figures, in a major event for FX traders.

The report is expected to show that the percentage of the total work force that is unemployed dropped to 5.2% in November, down from the mark of 5.4% recorded the previous month.

The bureau is scheduled to release the report at 12:30 A.M., GMT; as such the data is likely to dominate early morning Australian dollar currency market trading.

However, trading could also be affected by a speech due to be delivered in Sydney Wednesday by Reserve Bank of Australia Assistant Governor Dr. Phillip Lowe, who is responsible for advising RBA board members, who are in turn decide where to set interest rates.

According to AUD/USD analysis, a higher-than-expected drop in the unemployment rate could lift AUD/USD toward short-term resistance around Tuesday’s high of 0.9965.

But should the data show a rise in the rate, the currency pair could be pushed toward short-term support around the Nov. 30 low of 0.9544.