The AUD/USD pair moved up after two days of losses, rising about 0.2% to around 0.7090 during Monday’s European session. The Australian Dollar strengthened as traders waited for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meeting minutes scheduled for Tuesday.
At the policy meeting earlier this month, RBA Governor Michele Bullock indicated that interest rates may stay on the higher side while inflation risks remain elevated. The central bank had already increased the Official Cash Rate by 25 basis points to 3.85%.
Markets are also watching Australia’s January employment figures, due on Wednesday. Expectations suggest the economy added about 20,000 jobs, down from 65,200 in December. The unemployment rate is projected to rise slightly to 4.2% from 4.1%.
Meanwhile, the US Dollar traded quietly as US markets observed the President’s Day holiday. At the time of writing, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the Greenback against six major currencies, hovered near 97.00 with only small gains.
Later in the week, attention will shift to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes from the January policy meeting, also set for release on Wednesday.
