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Trade war concerns and rate cut speculations weighed on the Aussie last week. Can this week’s releases turn the tides for the comdoll?

China’s data dump (Wednesday, Asian session)

Australia won’t be seeing top-tier reports until the end of the week, so Aussie traders will likely brace for China’s data dump first.

 

In case you haven’t checked your forex calendars, the world’s second largest economy is set to print its fixed asset investment (5.9% expected vs. 5.8% previous), industrial production (6.0% expected vs. 6.3% previous), retail sales (8.6% expected vs. 9.8% previous), AND unemployment rate (5.1% previous) during the Asian session on Thursday.

Last week’s RBNZ mega rate cut already put Aussie bears at the edge of their seats as they expect the RBA to announce another cut this year.

If this week’s top-tier Chinese reports come in much weaker than market geeks are expecting, then rate cut speculations could gain traction and drag on higher-yielding currencies like the Aussie.

 

Labor market reports (Aug 15, 2:30 am GMT)

Australia added a net of 500 new workers in June, much weaker than the 9,100 addition that analysts had estimated. Details also reveal that 5,300 full-time workers had lost their jobs while 11,900 part-time employees found work.

Unemployment rate maintained its 5.2% reading, though, and participation rate also retained its record high level of 66.0% for the month.

Luckily for the bulls, traders had focused on a significantly better-than-expected NAB business confidence printed during the same trading session. The Aussie ended the session higher!

 

This week analysts see Australia adding a net of 14,000 jobs for the month of July even as unemployment rate is expected to remain at 5.2%.

Australia’s labor market data can affect the Aussie’s intraday price action, so you better make sure you stick around during the release!

Missed last week’s price action? Read AUD’s price recap for August 2 – 5!