AUD Weakens Again — Weak Jobs & US-China Tensions Pressure the Aussie
The Australian dollar weakened again against the US dollar on Friday, extending its decline into a second session. Risk-off sentiment emerged as China's planned restrictions on rare earth exports prompted strong language from US officials (Jamieson Greer & Scott Bessent), who described Beijing's move as "economic coercion." These escalating trade tensions caused markets to avoid riskier assets and pressured the AUD—understandably, the Australian economy is closely linked to China.
Domestically, September's employment data didn't help: +14.9,000 vacancies were lower than the +17,000 expected, while the previous figure was revised to -11.8,000. Unemployment rose to 4.5%, a nearly four-year high, prompting the market to quickly increase the odds of the RBA cutting its 3.65% interest rate in November to around 85% (from 50% at the start of the week). The combination of trade tensions and weak jobs data kept AUD/USD under pressure in the short term. (az)
Source: Newsmaker.id
