Forex - AUD/USD shoots up as Australian jobs data beats forecasts

Published 12/05/2012, 09:35 PM
Updated 12/05/2012, 09:36 PM
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Investing.com - The Australian dollar shot up against the greenback in Asian trading on Thursday after jobs data came in stronger than expected.

In Asian trading on Thursday, AUD/USD hit 1.0476, up 0.20%, up from a session low of 1.0441 and off from a high of 1.0481.

The pair was likely to test support at 1.0393, Monday's low, and resistance at 1.0490, the high from Nov. 27.

Australia’s unemployment rate fell unexpectedly last month, official data revealed on Thursday.

In a report, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that Australian unemployment rate fell to a seasonally adjusted 5.2% in November from 5.4% in October.

Analysts had expected Australian unemployment rate to rise to 5.5% last month.

The bureau added that the Australian economy added 13,900 jobs in November compared to 10,100 in the preceding month, whose figure was revised down from 10,700.

Analysts had expected Australian employment change to rise by just 2,000 last month.

The numbers came in a day after the Reserve Bank of Australia cut the country's benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points to a real 3.0% due to a cooling European economy and uncertainty surrounding the fate of the U.S.

Australian jobs data served as the pair's chief driver.

In the U.S. a closely watched private-sector jobs report disappointed earlier.

Payroll processor ADP reported that nonfarm payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 118,000 in November, below expectations for an increase of 125,000, though Superstorm Sandy disrupted economic activity in a large swath of the heavily populated eastern United States.

October's figure was revised down to a gain of 157,000 from a previously reported increase of 158,000.

Elsewhere in the U.S., the Institute of Supply Management reported that service-sector activity expanded at a quicker pace than expected in November.

The ISM non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 54.7 last month from 54.2 in October, compared to expectations for a decline to 53.5.

The Australian dollar, meanwhile was up against the euro and up against the yen, with EUR/AUD down 0.26% at 1.2466 and AUD/JPY up 0.18% at 86.38.

Later Thursday, the U.S. is to publish the weekly government report on initial jobless claims.








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