AUD/USD continues to post losses on Thursday, as the pair trades in the mid-0.92 range late in the European session. The Aussie has taken a tumble, losing over 100 points since Tuesday. In Thursday releases, US Unemployment Claims came in well above the estimate, while Core Durable Goods Orders soared to an eighteen-month high.
US releases painted a mixed picture on Thursday. Unemployment Claims jumped to 329 thousand, its highest level since mid-February. This was much higher than the estimate of 309 thousand. There was much better news from the manufacturing front, as Core Durable Goods Orders jumped 2.0% in March, crushing the estimate of 0.6%. Durable Goods Orders kept up the pace with a sharp gain of 2.6%, beating the estimate of 2.1%.
Australia's highlight event of the week was CPI, one of the most important consumer indicators. The indicator is released each quarter, magnifying the impact of each release. The index proved once again to be a market-mover, as the Australian dollar slipped badly, as CPI posted a gain of 0.6% in Q1, falling short of the estimate of 0.8%. CPI has now dropped for a second straight quarter, and is sharply down from its gain of 1.2% in Q3 of 2013.
In the US, New Home Sales slumped badly, as the key indicator plunged to 384 thousand in March, down from 440 thousand in the previous release. The weak reading was nowhere near the estimate of 455 thousand, and marked an eight-month low for the key housing indicator. The housing sector is showing signs of weakness, as both New Home Sales and Existing Home Sales have been on a sustained downward trend.
AUD/USD 0.9257 H: 0.9301 L: 0.9254
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