The USD surged back into focus today as markets were more upbeat about the USD and the prospects for the future. This came on the back of a crypto currency pullback that sent some investors panicking, but for the majority of traders the USD was the big winner today when it came to the bulls. The beige book was also released today, and while nothing major was really said it did note that US growth continues to look steady, and the general outlook for 2018 is increasingly positive for the majority of firms. Adding further to this was of course the US Industrial Production m/m figures which came in at 0.9% (0.45% exp), so more than double what analysts had predicted. It was also a nice turn of events given that the previous month had a reading of -0.12% which put some pressure on the USD.

The standout pair today was of course the USDJPY which shot back up the charts before hitting resistance at 111.113, but in the last hour has managed to break through and is looking all the more bullish. Traders will now be focused on the 200 day moving average which does tend to slow down bullish and bearish pressure, with the prospect of getting to resistance at 111.944 if it does push through the MA. There is also the prospect of a trend line forming as can be seen on the charts so markets will be looking to see if there is much weight in that as well. If the USD sell off does indeed continue though then support levels can be found at 110.202 and 109.385 on the charts, with expectations that it would be hard to reach 109 unless the bears are really taking things apart.

The upcoming news on Australia is also worth watching as well, given that employment figures are due out shortly. Many analysts are expecting the unemployment rate to remain the same, but if we do see a drop it could put pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia to be more hawkish. One thing that is interesting is also the climb in the AUDUSD, which will most likely get some comments from the RBA regarding the price levels which are well above expectations when it comes to a trade weighted index. So there could be some jaw boning come the next meeting. Nevertheless, for now the focus is certainly on the AUDUSD and the employment figures due out shortly.

A stronger than expected reading could see the AUDUSD shoot up to 0.8123 as risk sentiment has been positive for the AUD so far. Further extensions higher than that are likely to find the next level at 0.8234. Support levels can also be found at 0.7926 and 0.7864 as well, but the 80 cent mark will be a tough ask to beat unless we do see that positive employment data.