Aussie jumps on strong jobs data

 

Headline number beats estimates

The Australian economy added 39,900 jobs in November, far more than the 14,000 economists had anticipated and the biggest jump since August 2018. Taking some of the shine off the headline were the details, which showed only 4,200 full-time jobs made up the total with the rest being part time. In addition, the previous month’s data was revised lower, with the employment change more negative at -24,800 from -19,000. The unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped to 5.2% from 5.3%, with the participation rate holding steady at 66.0%.

AUD/USD jumped immediately after the data, rising as much as 0.4% to 0.6882. The pair is now at 0.6869 and seemingly lacks momentum to challenge the 200-day moving average at 0.6906 again.

 

AUD/USD Daily Chart

Source: OANDA fxTrade

 

Kiwi spikes up on GDP data

NZD/USD matched the highest levels of the week early this morning as New Zealand’s GDP growth beat expectations in the third quarter. However, downward revisions to prior data took the wind out of the kiwi’s sails. The New Zealand economy expanded 0.7% quarter-on-quarter, faster than the 0.6% economists had expected. However, Q2 GDP growth was downgraded to +0.1% q/q from +0.5% at the prior estimate.

NZD/USD jumped to a high of 0.6615, but the gains were only fleeting as the Q2 revision came in. The FX pair is now at 0.6589 but remains comfortably above the 200-day moving average at 0.6531.

 

NZD/USD Daily Chart

Source: OANDA fxTrade

 

Trump impeached

The House of Representatives voted to impeach US President Trump on two counts, abuse of power and obstruction. The Senate is expected to start its part of the impeachment trial in January, though it seems doubtful at this stage that the Republican-dominated Senate will support the motion, which would be required to remove Trump from office.

Markets reacted quite nonchalantly to the news, with US indices slipping between 0.04% and 0.19%, China shares fell 0.08% while the HongKong33 index under-performed with losses of 0.54%.

 

BOJ stays on hold, BOE expected to do the same

There are two central bank meetings today, and neither is expected to spring any pre-Christmas surprise. The Bank of Japan left rates and asset-buying programmes unchanged, hoping the current stimulus and accommodative stance will be enough to get the Japan economy going again. The Bank of England is expected to sit on its collective hands until Brexit is finalized and in place.

Other data include UK November retail sales, the US Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey for December and existing home sales for November. ECB’s Lane closes off the day with a speech.

 

The full MarketPulse data calendar can be viewed at https://www.marketpulse.com/economic-events/

 

 

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Andrew Robinson

Andrew Robinson

Senior Market Analyst at MarketPulse
A seasoned professional with more than 30 years’ experience in foreign exchange, interest rates and commodities, Andrew Robinson is a senior market analyst with OANDA, responsible for providing timely and relevant market commentary and live market analysis throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Having previously worked in Europe, since moving to Singapore he worked with several leading institutions including Bloomberg, Saxo Capital Markets and Informa Global Markets, proving FX strategies based on a combination of technical and fundamental analysis as well as market flow information. Andrew began his career as an FX dealer with NatWest and the Royal Bank of Scotland in the UK.
Andrew Robinson

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