Australian Dollar Holds Higher After Employment Data Release
The Australian Dollar (AUD) halted its two-day decline against the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday (12/12). The AUD remained firm after the release of mixed domestic employment data. The seasonally adjusted Employment Change increased by 35,600, bringing the total number of employed people to 14,535,500 in November. This reading surpassed the previous reading of 12,100 and the expected reading of 25,000. Meanwhile, the Unemployment Rate fell to 3.9%, the lowest since March, lower than the market estimate of 4.2%.
The AUD/USD pair faced challenges as the US Dollar (USD) generally strengthened after the release of the US inflation report on Wednesday. The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 2.7% year-on-year in November from 2.6% in October. The headline CPI came in at 0.3% MoM, in line with market consensus. Meanwhile, core CPI, excluding volatile food and energy prices, rose 3.3% YoY, while core CPI rose 0.3% MoM in November, as expected.
Source: FXStreet