Australian Dollar Falls as Soft Jobs Data Trims RBA Rate Hike Bets

Talking Points:

• Australia’s Employment Change for July Comes in at -0.3K vs. 13.2K Expected, 14.9K Prior Month
• Australia’s Unemployment Rate for July Comes in at 6.4% vs. 6.0% Expected, 6.0% Prior Month
• Australian Dollar Fell as the Employment Report Further Delayed Interest Rate Hike Expectations

The Australian Dollar fell after the Bureau of Statistics reported Australia’s employment statistics for the month of July. The economy lost 0.3K jobs, against market expectations of a 13.2K addition and June’s revised figure of a 14.9K increase. The headline unemployment rate increased to 6.4 percent, the highest since June 2002. The markets were expecting a print at 6.0 percent, unchanged from June. The economy added 14.5K full-time jobs while 14.8K part-time jobs were lost.

The Australia Dollar tracked backward against major global currencies likely because the Employment report further delayed interest rate hike expectations from the RBA. The central bank kept its monetary policy unchanged earlier this week, maintaining a commitment to a “period of stability” in the headline lending rate. The benchmark Australian 10-year government bond yield fell alongside the Aussie after the report was released.

AUDUSD [15 mins – 08/07/2014] Chart created using FXCM Marketscope