AUD/USD climbs on Aussie job data, Fed rate cut

The Australian dollar has posted sharp gains on Thursday. AUD/USD rose as much as 1% before paring most of those gains. In the North American session, the Australian dollar is trading at 0.6792, up 0.41% on the day.

Australia’s job growth higher than expected

Australia created 47.5 thousand jobs in August, close to the revised 48.9 thousand in July and crushing the market estimate of 25 thousand. The gains were all part-time positions as full-time jobs actually declined by 3.1 thousand. Still, investors gave a thumbs-up and the Australian dollar is up sharply today. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2%, in line with market expectations.

The Reserve Bank of Australia remains an outlier among the major central banks as it is yet to lower rates. The RBA has maintained rates at 4.35% since November but its “higher for longer” stance has not brought down inflation as much as expected. Inflation has dropped to 3.5% but that is still higher than the inflation target range of between 2 and 3 percent. The RBA meets next Wednesday, a day before the August inflation report and is expected to maintain rates.

Fed chops rates by 50 basis points

In one of the most anticipated rate meetings in recent memory, the Federal Reserve surprised the markets with an oversize cut of 50 basis points. The markets were unsure right up to decision time whether the Fed would go with a modest 25 bps cut or the large 50 bps cut. In the end, the Fed opted for the deeper cut in a near-unanimous decision (11 of 12 members voted in favor).

The message from the Fed was that it is confident that inflation will remain sustainably near the 2% target and that the weak labor market was in need of strong relief. In his press conference, Fed Chair Powell tried to assure the markets that the US economy was in good shape and that today’s move was not a signal that further 50 bps cuts were on the way.

AUD/USD Technical

• AUD/USD is testing resistance at 0.6798. Above, there is resistance at 0.6862
• 0.6751 and 0.6687 are the next support levels

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