Aussie dollar continues to trade around US$0.64
Daily Currency Update
The Australian dollar is steady this morning when valued against the Greenback trading above US$0.64. The AUD/USD pair eyes further recovery toward the psychological resistance of US$0.6500 as a stronger-than-expected Australian labour market report for August raised hopes for one more interest rate increase from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Australia's unemployment rate yesterday remained at 3.7 per cent for August, with employment increasing by 64,900 people and unemployment declining by 2,600 people. Australian Bureau of Statistics data show the participation rate hit a fresh record high last month, lifting from 66.9 per cent to 67 per cent. But part-time jobs accounted for 96 per cent of the increase in employment, and monthly hours worked declined a little. That contributed to the underemployment rate lifting from 6.4 per cent to 6.6 per cent last month because fewer people were working the hours they wanted. Part-time employment jumped by 62,100 people. Full-time employment rose by 2,800. The new record-high participation rate coincides with recent data showing the number of multiple job holders has also hit a record high in Australia recently. In the June quarter, there were 958,600 people with more than one job, up from 950,900 in the March quarter. There are no scheduled releases today in Australia. The AUD/USD pair is currently trading at US$0.6431 at the time of writing.Key Movers
The US Department of Commerce revealed that August retail sales rose by 2.6% YoY, below July’s downward revised 2.6% figures, and missed estimates of 2.9%. Digging deeper into the data, core Retail Sales, which exclude volatile items, grew by 0.2% beneath forecasts of 0.6%. While the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed the Producer Price Index (PPI) for the same period as the above-mentioned. The PPII climbed 1.6% YoY in August and exceeded estimates of 1.2%, doubling July’s 0.8% increase. Other data announced by the BLS showed that Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending September 9 rose to 220K, below the consensus of 225K, underscoring a hot labour market.The pound is notably bearish for Thursday, briefly breaking beneath the US$1.2400 major handle against the Greenback as bears keep the GBP pinned to the floor. Risk appetite continues to waffle for the pound after Wednesday’s disappointing showing on the United Kingdom’s (UK) economic calendar docket. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures for the UK slipped more than markets expected, with the July figure decreasing by 0.5%, worse than the expected 0.2% decline and wiping out the previous month’s 0.5% gain.
Expected Ranges
- AUD/USD: 0.6330 - 0.6530 ▲
- AUD/EUR: 0.5940 - 0.6140 ▲
- GBP/AUD: 1.9140 - 1.9340 ▼
- AUD/NZD: 1.0760 - 1.0960 ▲
- AUD/CAD: 0.8580 - 0.8780 ▼