Concerns about the Australian employment report prompted the Down Under currency to lose ground to the US dollar and the Japanese yen yesterday. Today, though, the downtrend has stopped, and Aussie is gaining some ground.
The employment report came in better than expected, with the jobless rate falling to 5.2 percent, rather than remaining steady at 5.3 percent. Many analysts expected October to be weaker than it was, and many Forex traders are heartened by the unexpected surprise. As a result, Aussie is now gaining ground against the greenback and the yen.
In addition to finding support in its own employment data, Aussie is also getting some help today as risk appetite makes a cautious appearance. Equities are rallying today, heading higher as investors try to find some good news amongst the wreck that was yesterday’s stock market rout. That means that high beta currencies are seing a little help today. Aussie is down, however, against the euro, which appears to be enjoying a resurgence as the ECB buys up Italian bonds in an attempt to stem the sovereign debt tide.
At 14:06 GMT, AUD/USD is higher at 101.92, up from the open at 1.0126. AUD/JPY is also higher, at 79.14, gaining from the open at 78.76. EUR/AUD is higher at 1.3369, up from the open at 1.3357. GBP/AUD is lower at 1.5665. down from the open at 1.5708.
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