AUD/JPY slipping below the waves as China Retail Sales, Aussie Employment figures all miss the mark

• Aussie data, China data, and US rate hike take turns pummeling the risk asset Aussie as safe havens become suddenly more attractive.
• Australian employment broadly missed the mark, printing at just 12k vs the forecast 18k.

The AUD/JPY is trading into 83.40 following China Retail Sales figures that broadly missed the mark. 

The Aussie has seen some challenges for the mid-week, getting knocked off of Wednesday's high just shy of the 84.00 handle by a US Fed rate hike that saw risk flows spike briefly; Australian Employment figures also disappointed, with Australian employment only adding 12 thousand jobs, a fair chunk below the expected 18 thousand, and a further decline from the previous reading of 18.3 thousand.

China indicators also broadly missed, taking even more wind out of the Aussie's sales with year-on-year Retail Sales coming in at 8.5% versus the expected 9.6% (last 9.4%), with Industrial Output printing at 6.8% (forecast 6.9%) and Urban Investment sitting at 6.1% y/y (forecast 7.0%).

The AUD is drooping in the face of a rash of disappointing macro figures across the board, and Aussie bulls are going to have a tough fight muscling back towards a bullish stance with most of the week's gains being quickly eaten away.

AUD/JPY Levels to watch

With the pair continuing to test to the downside of the recent key low of 83.50, the AUD/JPY looks set to fall back into major technical lows established in May(81.00), unless bulls can stage a meaningful recovery and push the pair over June's highs(84.50) and send the Aussie back higher against the safe-haven Yen. Middling data for both the Australian and Chinese economies are poorly timed, sapping power out of the buyers' camp, and the AUD/JPY could wind up looking for near-term support from the week's low of 82.90.