Investing.com - The Australian dollar was lower against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, after the release of mixed employment data out of Australia, while fresh expectations for a near-term end to the Federal Reserve's bond purchases supported the greenback.
AUD/USD hit 0.9472 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since October 7; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9416, shedding 0.30%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9289, the low of October 1 and resistance at 0.9484, the high of October 8.
Official data showed that the number of employed people in Australia rose by 9,100 in September, below expectations for a 15,000 increase, after a downwardly revised 10,200 decline the previous month.
The report also showed that Australia's unemployment rate ticked down to 5.6% last month, from 5.8% in August. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged in September.
Separately, the Melbourne Institute said inflation expectations rose to 2% in October, from 1.5% the previous month.
Meanwhile, the minutes from the Fed’s September meeting said the decision not to begin tapering stimulus was a "close call," fuelling expectations that the bank will begin to scale back bond purchases in the next few months.
The greenback also strengthened after President Barack Obama announced his nomination of Federal Reserve Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen to head the U.S. central bank, easing uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy.
But investors remained cautious as a partial U.S. government shutdown continued into a tenth day, with Congress still deadlocked over the U.S. debt ceiling and the federal budget.
The Aussie was lower against the euro with EUR/AUD adding 0.17%, to hit 1.4341.
AUD/USD hit 0.9472 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since October 7; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9416, shedding 0.30%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9289, the low of October 1 and resistance at 0.9484, the high of October 8.
Official data showed that the number of employed people in Australia rose by 9,100 in September, below expectations for a 15,000 increase, after a downwardly revised 10,200 decline the previous month.
The report also showed that Australia's unemployment rate ticked down to 5.6% last month, from 5.8% in August. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged in September.
Separately, the Melbourne Institute said inflation expectations rose to 2% in October, from 1.5% the previous month.
Meanwhile, the minutes from the Fed’s September meeting said the decision not to begin tapering stimulus was a "close call," fuelling expectations that the bank will begin to scale back bond purchases in the next few months.
The greenback also strengthened after President Barack Obama announced his nomination of Federal Reserve Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen to head the U.S. central bank, easing uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy.
But investors remained cautious as a partial U.S. government shutdown continued into a tenth day, with Congress still deadlocked over the U.S. debt ceiling and the federal budget.
The Aussie was lower against the euro with EUR/AUD adding 0.17%, to hit 1.4341.