Written by Lei Wee
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The Australian dollar rose on Thursday after a better-than-expected jobs report for the sixth straight month, but the greenback received additional support from a possible victory for President Donald Trump in the next U.S. presidential election. The stock remained close to an 11-week high.
The highlight of Asia Day was a press conference in China that began at 0200 GMT, highlighting measures to support the country’s struggling real estate sector.
The currency was steady at $7.1179 to the dollar as officials spoke, while the offshore currency was last up 0.14% at $7.1261.
The Australian dollar, often used as a proxy for the liquidity of the Chinese yuan, rose 0.66% to $0.6710, as strong domestic jobs data overshadowed continued news from China.
Thursday’s data showed Australia’s net payrolls rose by 64,100 jobs in September from August, well ahead of market expectations for an increase of 25,000, while the unemployment rate remained flat.
That prompted traders to scale back bets on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s first interest rate cut in December.
“Today’s data release only reinforces the RBA’s view that labor market conditions remain weak relative to full employment,” Abhijit Surya, Australia and New Zealand economist at Capital Economics, said in a statement.
“With the labor market in deep red, the (RBA) will not cut rates until the first half of next year.”
The dollar dominated the broader market after hitting an 11-week high against a basket of peers in pre-market trading.
The pound traded 0.03% higher at $1.2995, but languished near a two-month low on Wednesday after weaker-than-expected British inflation data. The yen was trading around the 150 yen level to the dollar, with the lowest price being 149.36 yen.
The euro was little changed at $1.0864 ahead of the European Central Bank’s monetary policy decision later on Thursday, which is expected to result in further interest rate cuts.
The dollar gained support not only from a series of positive indicators on the U.S. economy that prompted traders to dial back expectations for Fed rate cuts, but also from a possible victory for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in next month’s presidential election. are. election.
“His core policies on tariffs, immigration and taxes will further strengthen the US inflation outlook and dampen the prospects for the Fed to cut rates aggressively throughout the cycle,” said Thierry Wismann, global currency and rates strategist at Macquarie. Ta.
It peaked at 103.60 in the previous session, but was last stable at 103.47.
Elsewhere, the New Zealand dollar rose 0.28% to $0.6074.
For the first time in two months, data showed that domestic inflation returned to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s target range of 1-3% in the third quarter, opening the door for the central bank to continue. After hitting the low, it has suffered some losses. Aggressive interest rate reduction.
