Aussie Job Gains Remain Strong
AUD
The Aussie dollar opens down across most majors this morning despite brief strength on the back of strong employment data yesterday. On paper, Australia added a promising 55K jobs in October (expectations were 23k), but markets soon realised part-time employment was driving this growth, including temporary hiring for the Voice Referendum. The Unemployment Rate came in as-expected at 3.7%, slightly higher from last month’s 3.6%. Asian equities fell throughout the day as the Hang Seng dropped 1.4%, the Shenzhen -1.0% and the Nikkei -0.3%. The ASX closed 0.7% lower led by energy and IT stock’s 1.2% and 1.0% losses. At the commodities desk, crude oil and natural gas fell harshly by -4.9% and -2.3% respectively, while precious metals remained steady with Gold flat, Silver -0.1% and Iron +0.1%. No Aussie data until next Tuesday, where ears will be out for Governer Bullock’s speech at ASIC’s Annual Forum, and eyes will be out for the RBA’s Policy Meeting Minutes.
USD
The AUDUSD opens lower at 0.6467, retracing almost 0.7% from last night's 0.6509 highs prior to a flurry of US data in the early hours. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicated strong business growth in New York, with the general business conditions index climbing fourteen points to 9.1. Its impact was softened by the producer price index declining -0.5% for the month, the biggest monthly decline since April 2020. Overnight unemployment data showed continuing unemployment applications rising to the highest level in almost 2 years, adding to the challenges the unemployed face in finding new jobs. Wall St. was trading slightly lower following choppy trading conditions overnight with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both -0.1%, while the Dow Jones was -0.4% entering the final hour of trade. No more major data coming out tonight or over the weekend, as markets will look to the FOMC Meeting Minutes next Wednesday.
EUR
The AUDEUR opens lower at 0.5960, despite minimal market-moving headlines coming out overnight. European equities closed mixed with the DAX +0.2% while CAC dropped -0.6%. The Italian Trade Balance added an extra $400M to October, showing a surplus of 2.35B but against an expected 3.45B. Tonight, we'll see the Eurozone’s Current Account (expected to edge lower to 20.3B) and their Final CPI y/y numbers, expected to remain flat from last month.
GBP
The AUDGBP opens lower at 0.5211, dropping 0.75% from yesterday’s highs, while the FTSE gave up some gains overnight as with a decrease of -1.0%. No major data released yesterday, although tonight's Retail Sales m/m are expected to come in at +0.5% from last month. No more data to be released over the weekend, as the markets will look to Governer Bailey’s talk at the Henry Plumb Memorial lecture next Tuesday.
NZD
The AUDNZD inched ever so slightly higher to 1.0834 despite strong PPI Input and Output q/q coming out this morning. In the September 2023 quarter, prices received by producers of goods and services (outputs) increased 0.8 percent compared with the June 2023 quarter. Prices paid by producers of goods and services (inputs) increased 1.2 percent over the same period. No major news coming out over the weekend, with potential volatile data coming out next Friday, where Retail Sales q/q will be released.