AUD/USD drops below 0.7200 after lackluster jobs report

Australian jobs data did little to assist the AUD/USD pair to recover from Wednesday's sharp slide led by hawkish Fed minutes.

Earlier during Asian session, Australian employment change came-in at +10.8K in April, which was below forecast estimates of +12k. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate held steady at 5.7% against expectations of 5.8%. The employment details were not so encouraging to set aside the prospects of the Fed rate-hike in the near-term.

With the Fed minutes and Australian employment data out of the way, markets now look forward to the US weekly jobless claims and Fed speeches for further trading cues.

From technical perspective, the pair has decisively weakened below 200-day SMA and has subsequently dropped below 0.7200 handle to its lowest level since early March. Hence, the downward momentum seems strong enough to continue dragging the pair in the near-term.

Technical levels to watch

On a sustained trade below 0.7200 handle, the pair remains vulnerable to extend its downward trajectory initially towards 0.7145-40 intermediate support and eventually towards March lows support near 0.7100 round figure mark. With daily RSI heading towards near-term oversold territory, the pair might bounce-off or consolidate at lower levels.

Meanwhile on the upside, momentum above 0.7200 handle might now confront immediate resistance near 0.7230 level and any further attempts of recovery might now be capped at the very important 200-day SMA support turned resistance near 0.7260 level.