U.S. Dollar Gains Ground Against Australian Dollar
AUD/USD is testing the nearest support level at 0.7100 as the U.S. dollar is gaining ground against a broad basket of currencies.
The U.S. Dollar Index is currently trying to settle above the resistance at 93.50. If this attempt is successful, the U.S. dollar will gain additional upside momentum which will be bearish for AUD/USD.
In the U.S., Republicans and Democrats continue to negotiate a new coronavirus aid package but it looks like no consensus will be reached before the November election.
In Europe, countries continue to introduce additional virus containment measures to deal with the second wave of the virus. Yesterday, France imposed a curfew on its biggest cities.
Problems on the U.S. stimulus front and worries about the second wave of coronavirus in Europe put pressure on demand for riskier assets like the Australian dollar.
Today, Australia reported that Unemployment Rate increased from 6.8% in August to 6.9% in September. Analysts expected that Unemployment Rate would increase to 7.1%.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Employment Change report indicated that employment declined by 29,500 in September. This report was also better than analysts’ expectations.
Today, traders will also have a chance to take a look at new U.S. employment reports. Analysts expect that Initial Jobless Claims and Continuing Jobless Claims reports will highlight some minor progress on the job front.