Aussie Rises As Solid Jobs Data Signaled Further Rate Hike

(RTTNews) - The Australian dollar strengthened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Thursday, as the stronger jobs data in March pointed to a tight labor market that could keep inflation elevated and open doors for the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates again.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the nation added 53,000 jobs in March, far more than the economists' expectation of 20,000 jobs addition. In February, Australia had added 63,600 jobs.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 3.5 percent in March, its lowest level since the early 1970. The economists expect it to increase to 3.6 percent.

In economic news, data from the General Administration of Customs showed that the China exports expanded 14.8 percent on a yearly basis in March. This was the first growth in six months. Moreover, the annual growth was more than double the 6.8 percent increase posted in the first two months of the year and confounded forecast of 7.0 percent decline. Meanwhile, imports logged an annual fall of 1.4 percent. Nonetheless, the drop was slower than economists' forecast of 5.0 percent decrease as well as the 10.2 percent contraction seen in the January to February period.

Consequently, the trade surplus totaled $88.2 billion, which was well above the expected level of $39.2 billion.

The Australian dollar held steady against its major rivals on Wednesday.

In the Asian session today, the Australian dollar rose to more than a 1-month high of 1.0812 against the NZ dollar and a 9-day high of 89.51 against the yen, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.0769 and 89.04, respectively. If the aussie extends its uptrend, it may find resistance around 1.05 against the kiwi and 92.00 against the yen.

Against the U.S. and the Canadian dollars, the aussie advanced to 0.6721 and 0.9028 from yesterday's closing values of 0.6689 and 0.8989, respectively. On the upside, 0.68 against the greenback and 0.91 against the loonie are seen as the next resistance levels for the aussie.

Moving away from an early 2-1/2- year low of 1.6446 against the euro, the aussie edged up to 0.6362. The next resistance level for the aussie is seen around the 1.60 mark.

Looking ahead, Eurozone industrial production for February is slated for release at 5:00 am ET.

In the New York session, U.S. PPI for March and weekly jobless claims data are due.