Australia wages rise 0.6% in the September quarter

Omkar Godbole FXStreet Contributor

Australia wage price index rose 0.6 percent quarter-on-quarter in the September quarter as expected, extending the moderate rate of wage growth recorded by the series over the last four years, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported a few minutes before press time.

The annualized number rose to 2.3 percent as expected from the previous quarter's reading of 2.1 percent.

Quarterly Change (Jun Qtr 2018 To Sep Qtr 2018) (Source: ABS)

The trend index rose 0.5% and seasonally adjusted index rose 0.6% for Australia in the September quarter. This continued the moderate rate of wage growth recorded by the series over the last four years.

The Private and Public sector rose 0.5% and 0.6% respectively, seasonally adjusted.

The highest index rise at an industry level (in original terms) was recorded in Accommodation and food services (1.9%) and the lowest in Finance and insurance services (0.4%).

Annual Change (Sep Qtr 2017 To Sep Qtr 2018)

The trend and seasonally adjusted indexes for Australia rose 2.2% and 2.3% respectively through the year to the September quarter 2018.

In original terms, rises through the year to September quarter 2018 at the industry level ranged from 1.8% for Mining and Retail trade to 2.8% for Health care and social assistance.

Author

Omkar Godbole

FXStreet Contributor

Omkar Godbole, editor and analyst, joined FXStreet after four years as a research analyst at several Indian brokerage companies.

USD/JPY trims losses; focus is back to 156.00

USD/JPY now bounces off the area of multi-month lows and appears headed toward the 156.00 region ahead of the opening bell in Asia. The sharp pullback in spot comes in response to the sudden strengthening of the Japanese Yen, reflecting growing conviction among investors that the BoJ could deliver another interest rate hike as early as its September 18 policy meeting.

AUD/USD looks constructive above 0.7200

AUD/USD adds to Wednesday’s advance, reaching fresh four-month highs north of 0.7200 the figure late on Thursday. The pair’s solid performance follows the sharp sell-off in the US Dollar while market participants gear up for the release of US NFP on Friday.

Gold struggles to extend the bounce past $4,500

Gold adds to Wednesday’s gains and reclaims the area near the key $4,500 mark per troy ounce on Thursday. The strong decline in the US Dollar coupled with further weakness in US Treasury yields across the board also bolsters the move higher in the precious metal.

Bitcoin and Gold Outlook: BTC and XAU recover as US ISM Services PMI edges higher in August

Bitcoin (BTC) strongly rises to trade above the pivotal $80,000 level on Thursday. The Crypto King is rallying alongside broader cryptocurrency prices following the release of the United States (US) Services PMI. Gold (XAU/USD) is similarly bullish, trading at $4,500 at the time of writing. The metal is up over 2% on the day, signaling the return of bulls as market sentiment improves.

Canada's 6.4% unemployment rate: Why Friday's jobs print puts the BoC's slack story on trial

The Bank of Canada (BoC) held at 2.25% on Wednesday for a seventh straight meeting and rewrote the one paragraph that still argues against a hike. In July, the BoC’s statement called the labour market soft and pinned the unemployment rate inside a 6.5%-7% range it had held since the end of 2024. July's Labour Force Survey (LFS) then printed 6.4%.

Diesel’s record $100 warning: The oil shock hiding in plain sight

The Oil market may look calmer than it did a few months ago, but diesel is sending a very different message. The US diesel crack spread, the premium of ultra-low sulphur diesel futures over WTI, recently surged above $100 per barrel for the first time, reaching an intraday record of just over $102.00.