Forex - Australia dollar down sharply on weak jobs data, Greece talks

Investing.com - The Australian dollar fell sharply on disappointing jobs data Thursday that underlined a fragile view on economic recovery and continued turmoil in Greece bailout talks.

Australia's January labor force survey showed unemployment up to 6.4%, higher than the 6.2% expected and 12.200 jobs lost compared to 5,000 seen and participation rate unchanged at 64.8%.

AUD/USD traded at 0.7664, down 0.67%, while USD/JPY changed hands at 120.20, down 0.20%, on safe-haven demand and mixed data on machinery orders and company earnings.

Earlier the euro dipped after talks between Greece and its European partners failed to reach agreement on a way forward to allow the debt-laden country to get a needed funding program in place before the end of the month.

EUR/USD traded at 1.134, down 0.19%, after nearly seven hours of talks.

"We did make a lot of progress in the sense that we now understand better where we all are," Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem said at a press conference in Brussels. "But there was simply not enough to come to joint conclusions and that is the requirement to produce a statement."

The talks between European finance ministers that ran into Thursday morning meant that the Eurogroup failed to produce a joint statement on the outcome of the meeting.

Negotiations will now move towards next Monday when there is another Eurogroup meeting in Brussels. Dijsselbloem said.

In Australia, Reserve Bank Assistant Governor Guy Debelle is due to speak at a FX Week conference in Sydney.

Also in Australia, MI inflation expectations showed a mean view of 2.6%, compared to 2.4% in January, an unexpected rise following drop in headline CPI in the fourth quarter.

In Japan, December machinery orders rose 8.3%, well above the 2.7% gain expected and January CGPI rose 0.3%, less than the 1.1% on year expected, but still the 22nd straight year-on-year rise.

Overnight, the dollar pushed higher against the other major currencies on Wednesday, as sentiment waned amid mounting concerns over whether Greece will reach a compromise deal with creditors to extend its bailout program.

Greece’s current bailout is due to expire on February 28 and the new Greek government does not want it extended, fuelling concerns that a conflict with international creditors could trigger the country’s exit from the euro zone.

Athens was expected to ask for a bridge loan to cover its funding needs until September, and to also propose new economic reforms to replace 30% of its massive bailout deal.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's government won a confidence vote on Tuesday evening and reiterated that he will deliver on pre-election pledges to roll back austerity measures and reject an international bailout extension.

The yen weakened slightly after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the Group of 20 nations didn't criticize his bank's monetary easing program, indicating confidence to continue on the path of monetary stimulus.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was quoted at 94.92, down 0.26%.