USD Dips as US Unemployment Rate Rises

AUD

AUD opens mixed this morning however the main move has been against the USD, where AUD has capitalised on weak US data (see below) to open considerably higher. The ASX enjoyed a much-needed 1.1% gain on Friday, lead by Industrial’s gaining 2.1% and Real Estate stocks showing a 2.0% gain. China's weak services PMI data on Friday was overlooked however with Aussie PM Albanese landing in China on the weekend, the AUD is currently susceptible to volatility resulting from trade-related headlines. No data due today ahead of tomorrow's Cash Rate and RBA Rate Statement where futures markets are expecting a 25bps rate hike shortly before the Melbourne Cup.

USD

AUDUSD rallied strongly on Friday night on the back of weak US Employment figures, opening this morning at 2-month highs of 0.6512. Wall St also had a good session with the Dow closing up 0.7% while the S&P gained 0.9% and the Nasdaq was 1.4% higher at the closing bell. To the Employment data, and the US economy added 150k jobs in October, down from a negatively revised 297k and well short of expectations of 180k whilst previous months' results were also negatively revised. The unemployment rate unexpectedly rose by 0.1% to 3.9% with the participation rate unexpectedly falling 0.1% to 62.7%. Finally, average hourly earnings data was mixed with MoM at 0.2% (0.3% expected) and YoY at 4.1% (4.0% expected). The much weaker than expected report saw US yields slide 10 points or more across the curve as markets brought forward the chances of a Fed rate cut. Adding to the USD weakness was the ISM Services PMI data which also missed expectations on Friday night. Looking ahead, it is a much quieter week for US data with Fed Chair Powell's speech on Wednesday evening the main event.

EUR

AUDEUR opens this morning slightly higher at 0.6061 in what were tame trading conditions. European markets initially adding to gains though slipping in late trade with the CAC shedding 0.2% and the DAX outperformed to gain 0.3% on the day. The Unemployment Rate in Europe worsened by 0.1% to 6.5% in data released on Friday, and French Industrial Production figures continued to flounder, showing a contraction on the pervious month's results. Looking ahead and Spain, Italy, France and Germany are all set to release their Services PMI data tonight at 7:45pm.

GBP

AUDGBP opens slightly down this morning at 0.5256 after peaking at 0.5285 late on Friday night. The FTSE closed down 0.4% on the day and there was little in the way of economic data. To the week ahead and tonight we'll get Construction PMI, however the main events will be BoE Governor Bailey's speech on Wednesday afternoon and then the UK's GDP figures due on Friday.  

NZD

After Thursday's 3-month highs, AUDNZD had steadily given up ground, opening lower this morning at 1.0856. The NZD has bounced back strongly after the poor Employment data from mid last week. This week has a steady flow of data from across the ditch, starting with ANZ Commodity Prices due later this morning and the main event for the week occurring on Wednesday with the Inflation Expectations.