Breaking: Aussie Employment report is hugly bullish, sends AUD 20 pips higher off the bat

FXStreet Team FXStreet

Australia’s highly anticipated May jobs report is out and smashed expectation as follows, sending the Aussie higher in its correction vs the Fed-hardened greenback:

Australia May Employment +115.2k s/adj (Reuters poll: +30.0k).
Australia May Unemployment Rate +5.1 pct, s/adj (Reuters poll: +5.5).
Australia may Full Time Employment +97.5k s/adj.
Australia May Participation Rate +66.2 pct, s/adj (Reuters poll: +66.1 pct).

The main domestic news event for the Aussie has been jobs data for the month of May, albeit it has been somewhat diluted by the surprise hawkish tilt at the Federal Reserve.

Nevertheless, this will be especially important as it will be the last key release before the 9 July Reserve Bank of Australia meeting and the Aussie has rallied 0.25% off the bat so far, some 20 pips higher.

15-min chart

Traders looking to the RBA

Markets will be looking for changes to the shape and possibly size of the QE after this very strong headline print and a drop in the Unemployment Rate that could lead to a less dovish RBA and a brighter inflation outlook for the second quarter after the underwhelming first quarter print.

Earlier today, RBA's governor Phillip Lowe was speaking:

RBA Lowe: Aussie economy needs stimulus

About the Unemployment Rate

The Unemployment Rate released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is the number of unemployed workers divided by the total civilian labour force.

If the rate hikes, indicates a lack of expansion within the Australian labour market. As a result, a rise leads to weaken the Australian economy. A decrease of the figure is seen as positive (or bullish) for the AUD, while an increase is seen as negative (or bearish).

Author

FXStreet Team

FXStreet

EUR/USD eases marginally, back to 1.1800

EUR/USD navigates a narrow range on Thursday, hovering around the 1.1800 neighbourhood in a context of humble gains in the US Dollar. The pair’s lacklustre performance come amid the unabated trade uncertainty, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the cautious tone from the ECB’s Lagarde.

GBP/USD retreats from tops, approaching 1.3540

GBP/USD partially sets aside Wednesday’s strong advance and recedes to the 1.3540 region on Thursday. Cable’s modest retracement follows the equally acceptable gains in the Greenback, while investors continue to pencil in a potential BoE rate cut in March.

Gold clings to gains just below $5,200, focus on geopolitics

Gold is edging modestly higher on Thursday, adding to Wednesday’s uptick and holding just below the $5,200 mark per troy ounce against the backdrop of modest gains in the US Dollar. In the meantime, attention is turning to the geopolitical scenario following US-Iran nuclear talks.