Australian Dollar Recovers After Strong Jobs Data

(RTTNews) - The Australian dollar recovered from recent losses against other major currencies in the Asian session on Thursday, after data showed that Australia's employment rose more than expected in June, signaling a possible rate hike by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the Australia's employment increased by 50,200 in June, much bigger than economists' forecast of 20,000.

The participation rate came in at 66.9 percent in June, up from 66.8 percent in May. Further, the employment-to-population ratio rose by 0.1 percentage point to 64.2 percent, data showed.

Meanwhile, the nation's jobless rate rose slightly to a seasonally adjusted 4.1 percent in June, while it was expected to remain unchanged at 4.0 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply after data showed an unexpected sharp drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, while a weaker dollar also provided support. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August rallied $2.09 or 2.6 percent at $82.85 a barrel.

In the Asian trading now, the Australian dollar rose to 105.48 against the yen and 1.6220 against the euro, from a recent 1-month low of 104.62 and more than a 1-month low of 1.6284, respectively. If the aussie extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 110.00 against the yen and 1.60 against the euro.

Against the U.S. and the Canadian dollars, the aussie advanced to 0.6742 and 0.9221 from a recent 2-day low of 0.6715 and a 1-week low of 0.9189, respectively. On the upside, 0.68 against the greenback and 0.94 against the loonie are seen as the next resistance levels for the aussie.

The aussie edged up to 1.1100 against the NZ dollar, from a recent low of 1.1063. The AUD/NZD pair may test resistance around the 1.12 region.

Looking ahead, Eurostat releases euro area construction output for May at 5:00 am ET in the European session.

At 8:15 am ET, the European Central Bank will announce its monetary policy decision. Markets expect the ECB to keep its key rates on hold today after cutting the rates for the first time in five years in June. The main refinancing rate was lowered by 25 basis points to 4.25 percent.

Following the announcement, ECB President Christine Lagarde holds press conference at 8:45 am ET.

In the New York session, U.S. weekly jobless claims, Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index for July and U.S. Consumer Board's leading index for June are slated for release.