/USD Reverses Post-FOMC Weakness; Data Eyed

A brief period of US dollar strength in the wake of the FOMC decision saw AUD/USD trade down to 0.7539, before the move was retraced and the pair touched session highs of 0.7578, but failed to make it over 0.76. Some weakness in the cross as Asia timezone digests the FOMC decision, last down 5 pips at 0.7572.

• The final FOMC decision of 2020 was ultimately in line with expectations, with new asset purchase guidance but no change to the asset purchase program itself. The decision and optimistic-looking summary of economic projections initially saw the US dollar strengthen before moving back to pre-announcement levels.
• A fair clip of data due from Australia today, employment figures are due at 0030GMT/1130AEDT. Expectations are for 50K new jobs in November after gaining 178.8k in the previous month. The unemployment rate is foreseen unchanged at 7%.
• Anecdotal survey evidence in the period has been positive. The November Westpac Leading Index came in at 0.46%, improving from 0.3% in the previous month. The Commonwealth Bank Manufacturing PMI improved to 56 in December from 55.8, while the services index came in at 57.4.
• The Federal government's Mid‑Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook is also due in the session.
• From a technical perspective AUDUSD is holding onto recent gains and remains bullish. The Dec 2 break of 0.7414, Sep 1 high and former key resistance confirmed a resumption of the uptrend that began Mar 19. Moving average studies are also in a bull mode highlighting current sentiment. The focus is on 0.7583, the Jun 14, 2018 high and 0.7638, a Fibonacci retracement. Key short-term support is at 0.7373, Dec 7 low. Initial support lies at 0.7507 and 0.7427.