AUD/USD Taps One-Week High Amid Refreshed Risk-On Mood

The AUD/USD pair minted a new one-week high at 0.7320 in the Asian session on Thursday on the back of upbeat Australian jobs report for February. Also, headlines from warring Ukraine and China extended positive sentiments for the risk-loving Aussie.

Fresh reports showed that Australia’s Unemployment Rate dropped by 10 basis points (bps) to 4% in February, while the Employment Change jumped past economists’ 37K forecast and 12.9K of the previous month to 77.4K.

Besides the positive data reports from Australia, cautious optimism across the market and positive signals from China extended significant bullish sentiment for the AUD/USD pair.

Yesterday, the market risk mood soared following talks of a diplomatic settlement between Russia and Ukraine. The International Court of Justice also ordered Russia to suspend its invasion of Ukraine, which added to the risk of challenges for the peace talks and market sentiment.

AUD/USD Near-Term Bias Heavily Dependent on China and Ukraine

In other news, decreasing COVID-19 cases in China, following the drop of daily infections recorded on Wednesday, and China Vice Premier Liu He’s call for economic boosting measures in Q1 sustained investors’ risk appetite in the markets.

Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve’s 25 bps rate hike and expectations of seven more hikes in 2022, along with positively revised inflation predictions capped gains for the AUD/USD.

Additionally, Wall Street ended the day on a positive note while the US 10-year Treasury yield retouched its highest point in two years before receding to 2.172%, which infused more mixed signals in the market.

Finally, headlines around China’s COVID-19 status should provide some trading cues for the Aussie pair, while traders remain cautious in second-tier data from the US. Regardless, headlines from the Russia-Ukraine crisis will remain central for the pair’s near-term price action.