AUD/USD has crossed above the key 0.90 level. The Aussie received a boost from an excellent Employment Change release. Over in the US, retail sales numbers met expectations, while Unemployment Claims dropped for a second straight week.
Australian Employment Change surprised the markets, as the key indicator posted its biggest gain in a year, climbing to 47.3 thousand. This easily surpassed the estimate of 15.3 thousand. The Unemployment Rate remained unchanged, at 6%. The Australian dollar reacted positively to the employment news and broke above the 0.90 line. The Aussie has gained over one cent since Tuesday.
In the US, employment numbers also pleased the markets. Unemployment Claims dropped to 315 thousand, beating the estimate of 334 thousand. This was the second straight drop for the key employment indicator. Core Retail Sales and Retail Sales both posted modest gains of 0.3%, which were within market expectations.
With Nonfarm Payrolls improving and Unemployment Claims dropping, the markets can breathe more comfortably as the Fed is likely to take its scissors and trim QE next week for the third time. New York Fed President William Dudley stated last week that the threshold to alter the Fed's program to wind up QE was "pretty high". In other words, short of a serious economic downturn in the US economy, we can expect the QE tapers to continue.
AUD/USD 0.9080 H: 0.9082 L: 0.8995
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