AUD/USD sees upside above 0.6800 as focus shifts to RBA minutes
- AUD/USD aims to extend gains as bulls are hopeful above 0.6800 ahead of RBA minutes.
- The RBA minutes will provide a detailed view of the hawkish stance taken by RBA policymakers.
- The sold US Retail Sales data has failed to support the greenback.
The AUD/USD pair is hovering around the critical resistance of 0.6800 in the early Tokyo session. The asset is forming an initiative buying structure after a vertical upside move from Friday’s low at 0.6720. A sheer upside follow-up is expected from the asset if it violates 0.6806 decisively.
The antipodean is performing better against the greenback for the past two trading sessions after the release of the firmer aussie employment data. The Australian economy added 88.4k jobs in the labor market in June, significantly higher than the prior release of 60.6k and the expectations of 25k. Apart from that, the Unemployment Rate has declined to 3.5% from the prior release of 3.9%.
The upbeat employment generation figures and a steep fall in the jobless rate have delighted the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). This will empower the RBA to elevate interest rates in their next monetary policy meeting unhesitatingly.
Going forward, the release of the minutes from RBA for the July monetary policy meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday will be of utmost importance. This will provide a detailed view behind featuring a consecutive 50 basis points (bps) interest rate hike by the RBA.
Meanwhile, the US dollar index (DXY) has tumbled below 108.00 after a perpendicular fall 19-year high of 109.29. Considering the momentum in the downside move, the asset is expected to extend its downside further. The release of the robust Retail Sales data on Friday has failed to support the DXY. The economic data landed at 15, higher than the estimates and the prior release of 0.8% and -0.3% respectively.