AUD/USD holds above 0.6800 despite stronger US Dollar, eyes on RBA Minutes

• AUD/USD trades in positive territory around 0.6805 in Monday's early Asian session. 
• The US Nonfarm Payrolls came in stronger than expectations in September. 
• Middle East geopolitical risks might weigh on the Aussie, but a hawkish RBA could cap its downside. 

The AUD/USD pair recovers some lost ground to near 0.6805, snapping the two-day losing streak during the early Asian session on Monday. The stronger-than-expected US September employment data provide some support to Greenbank and drag the major pair lower. 

Data released by the Labor Department on Friday showed that the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) rose by 254,000 in September from a revised 159,000 in August and was better than the 140,000 forecast. Meanwhile, the Unemployment Rate fell to 4.1% in September from 4.2% in the previous month. 

The upbeat US economic data has eased concerns about the weakness in the labor market and prompted traders to reduce bets that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut the deeper interest rate, which provides some support to the US Dollar (USD). The markets are now pricing in nearly 97.4% chance of 50 basis points (bps) Fed rate cuts in September, up from 31.1% before the NFP data. 

The Australian Dollar (AUD) remains under selling pressure amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which hurt the risk appetite for the AUD. However, the downside of the pair might be limited due to the hawkish stance of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Looking ahead, traders will take more cues from the RBA Meeting Minutes, which will be released on Tuesday.