AUD/USD Weakens - China Data Makes Aussie "Choke"
The AUD/USD pair fell slightly by around 0.10% and hovered near 0.6645 during Monday's Asian session. The Australian dollar was pressured after weaker-than-expected Chinese economic data for November came out, rekindling market concerns about slowing demand from China.
China reported that Retail Sales rose only 1.3% year-on-year, well below the 2.9% forecast. Industrial Production also slowed to 4.8%, down from 4.9% the previous month and missing expectations of 5%. Because Australia relies heavily on exports to China, weak data typically puts immediate pressure on the AUD.
Pressure on the AUD also came from within the country: Australian labor data showed the economy lost 21,300 jobs in November, compared to market expectations of 20,000. However, the AUD's weakness was restrained by the lack of a strong USD—investors still expect the Fed to cut interest rates more in 2026 than its official signal. This week's major focus is on the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data, released on Tuesday, which could trigger major movements in the AUD/USD pair. (az)
Source: Newsmaker.id
