The Australian dollar declined after the country released its employment data for April. Over the month, the unemployment rate increased to 5.2% from the previous 5.1%. Investors were expecting it to drop to 5.0%. On a positive note, the participation rate increased to 65.8% from the previous 65.7% while the employment change increased to 28.4K. The Aussie has been under pressure after data from China showed that the economy was easing.
The price of crude oil rose after the Trump administration announced that it would suspend all commercial and cargo flights between the US and Venezuela. This announcement came after it was determined that political instability and tensions had increased in the South American country. This order will have a limited impact because many carriers had already withdrawn services. Venezuela has the world’s biggest oil reserves. Yesterday, the EIA data showed that crude inventories rose by more than 5.43 million barrels, which was higher than the expected slowdown of more than 800K barrels.
Today, focus will be on the USD as investors receive the building permits data. In April, the building permits are expected to climb to 1.290 million, which is higher than the previous 1.288 million. The housing starts are expected to rise to 1.205 million from the previous 1.139 million. The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index is expected to rise to 10 from the previous 8.5. Meanwhile, the initial jobless claims are expected to decrease by 220K while the continuing jobless claims are expected to decrease to 1,680K.
EUR/USD
The EUR/USD pair rose to a high of 1.1208, which was higher than the intraday low of 1.1173. On the hourly chart below, this price is slightly above the middle line of the Bollinger Bands and along the 50-day moving average. The Relative Vigor Index (RVI) has moved down towards the neutral line. The pair could move in either direction today based on US data.
AUD/USD
The AUD/USD pair declined to an intraday low of 0.6892. On the hourly chart, the pair is below the 50-day and 100-day moving averages. The RSI has moved to the oversold level while the signal line of the MACD remained below the neutral level. The pair will likely remain under pressure as investors keep an eye on the US-China trade conflict.
XBR/USD
The price of Brent crude oil rose to a high of $71.65 as the crisis in Venezuela continued. This price is along the upper line of the Bollinger Bands on the four-hour chart. It is also above the 50-day moving averages and above the important support shown below. The pair could break the important resistance level of 72 and move to the YTD high of almost $75.
