AUD/JPY refreshes weekly top above 80.00 on upbeat Australian employment, eyes BOJ

AUD/JPY rises to the fresh high of the week of 80.39 before declining to 80.33 during early Thursday. The quote’s latest move could be traced to Austr  |  21/01/2021 00:45

• AUD/JPY briefly rises on Aussie data before stepping back to the normal above-80.00 area.
• Australia Employment Change match forecasts, Unemployment Rate drops to the lowest since May 2020.
• Risk-tone remains positive as Joe Biden becomes 46^th President of the US, WHO pushes for more vaccine rollouts.
• BOJ is expected to main status-quo while waiting to overcome the covid impact.

AUD/JPY rises to the fresh high of the week of 80.39 before declining to 80.33 during early Thursday. The quote’s latest move could be traced to Australia’s December month employment data as well as cautious mood ahead of the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) monetary policy meeting.

While Employment Change marched 50K forecast versus 90K prior on the seasonally adjusted basis, Unemployment Rate dropped below 6.7% forecast to the lowest in six months.

Read: Aussie Unemployment beats expectations, AUD steady on the data

Earlier in the day, Australia’s Consumer Inflation Expectations eased from 3.5% prior to 3.4% in December whereas Japan’s Merchandise Trade Balance eased from ¥942.8 B forecast to ¥751 B during the stated month.

Other than the welcome employment data from Australia, the risk-on mood also favors AUD/JPY buyers. The market sentiment recently cheered Joe Biden’s swearing-in ceremony as the 46th US President as well as pledge to battle the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. His tweet as the President Of The United States (POTUS) states, “After taking the oath of office this afternoon, I got right to work taking action to control the pandemic, provide economic relief, tackle climate change, advance racial equity.

Also favoring the mood could be the World Health Organization’s (WHO) readiness to approve various covid vaccines, per Reuters.

On the contrary, China’s sanctions on 28 US diplomats, most of them from the Trump administration, coupled with fears of the heavy death toll due to the COVID-19) probe the risks.

Against this backdrop, stocks in Australia and Japan remain positive while S&P 500 Futures also wavers around the record top around mid-3,800s.

Looking forward, the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) monetary policy meeting will offer immediate direction to the quote but major attention will be given to how Biden acts during the first full day of his Presidency.

Read: BOJ Preview: Policymakers to remain focused on the economic comeback

Technical analysis

 Successful trading above 21-day SMA and three-week-old rising trend line, currently around 79.80/70, keeps the AUD/JPY bulls directed towards a downward slopping resistance line from January 08, at 80.75 now.