Australian Dollar FX Options Talking Points:
- Australian Dollar is priced in for some volatile price action in the days ahead
- Options-derived support may catch AUD/USD[1] if it falls on a local jobs report
- Ebbing downside momentum on the other hand signals that prices may rise
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The Australian Dollar could be in for some volatile price action in the coming days with fundamentals pointing to potential losses while technicals say otherwise. In either instance, the pair may find itself being supported or restrained by near-term options-derived levels. Looking at the table below, AUD/USD one-day implied volatility is the highest of its major peers at 12.24%. The one-week reading is also elevated at 8.08%. Let’s take a look at what may drive prices as the week comes to a close.
Implied Volatility and Market Range for the FX Majors
On Thursday we will get April’s Australia employment report. There, the country is expected to add about 20.0k jobs as the unemployment and labor force participation rates hold steady at 5.5% and 65.5% respectively. Keep in mind that for the majority of this year so far, Australia economic news flow has tended to underperform relative to expectations. Although since mid-April, it has been coming in increasingly less negative. With that in mind, this opens the door for a slight disappointment in the employment data which could inspire near-term losses in the Australian Dollar. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s May meeting minutes reiterated that they don’t see a strong case
