Investing.com - The Australian dollar was sharply lower against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, following the release of weak employment data from Australia and as the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting disappointed expectations for further easing.
AUD/USD hit 1.0164 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since July 10; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0164, dropping 0.85%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0103, the low of June 19 and resistance at 1.0280, Wednesday’s high.
The Aussie came under pressure after official data showed that Australia’s economy shed 27,000 jobs in June, disappointing expectations for a 200 increase and following a 27,800 rise the previous month.
Australia’s unemployment rate rose to 5.2% in June from 5.1% the previous month, in line with expectations.
A separate report by the Melbourne Institute showed that inflation expectations for July rose to 3.3% from 2.3% the previous month, above the Reserve Bank of Australia’s target of 2-3%.
Meanwhile, the greenback found support after the Fed indicated that the U.S. economy would have to worsen further before the central bank implements additional easing measures.
In the minutes of its June policy-setting meeting, the U.S. central bank signaled that a further economic slowdown would bring growing support among policy makers for additional steps to spur growth.
While a few policymakers said the bank should ease policy to move the economy toward its targets for full employment and stable prices, others indicated that more action could be warranted if growth slows, risks intensified or if inflation seemed likely to fall “persistently” below their goal.
The Aussie was also sharply lower against the euro with EUR/AUD climbing 0.75%, to hit 1.2030.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release government data on unemployment claims and official data on import prices.
AUD/USD hit 1.0164 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since July 10; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0164, dropping 0.85%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0103, the low of June 19 and resistance at 1.0280, Wednesday’s high.
The Aussie came under pressure after official data showed that Australia’s economy shed 27,000 jobs in June, disappointing expectations for a 200 increase and following a 27,800 rise the previous month.
Australia’s unemployment rate rose to 5.2% in June from 5.1% the previous month, in line with expectations.
A separate report by the Melbourne Institute showed that inflation expectations for July rose to 3.3% from 2.3% the previous month, above the Reserve Bank of Australia’s target of 2-3%.
Meanwhile, the greenback found support after the Fed indicated that the U.S. economy would have to worsen further before the central bank implements additional easing measures.
In the minutes of its June policy-setting meeting, the U.S. central bank signaled that a further economic slowdown would bring growing support among policy makers for additional steps to spur growth.
While a few policymakers said the bank should ease policy to move the economy toward its targets for full employment and stable prices, others indicated that more action could be warranted if growth slows, risks intensified or if inflation seemed likely to fall “persistently” below their goal.
The Aussie was also sharply lower against the euro with EUR/AUD climbing 0.75%, to hit 1.2030.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release government data on unemployment claims and official data on import prices.