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AUD/NZD rises to a one-and-a-half-week high after Australia jobs data
Australia’s unemployment rate held at 4.4% in June while employed people increased by 76.3K, boosting bets on further Reserve Bank of Australia rate hikes.
Australia’s jobs report lifted the Australian dollar versus the New Zealand dollar, with the AUD/NZD cross attracting fresh buying and climbing to the 1.2060 to 1.2065 area during Thursday’s Asian session.
FXStreet said the upbeat data helped the pair extend this week’s rebound from the 1.1935 area, the lowest level since late March. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported Australia’s unemployment rate stayed at 4.4% in June, and employed people rose by 76.3K, beating even optimistic expectations.
The release also reinforced expectations for additional Reserve Bank of Australia rate hikes, which supported the AUD and the AUD/NZD cross. Meanwhile, FXStreet noted the New Zealand dollar lagged as escalating US-Iran tensions continued to benefit the safe-haven US dollar.
The article added that gains for AUD/NZD could be capped if expectations grow that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will raise rates again at its September meeting, supported by stronger-than-expected New Zealand inflation data. It also cited Brown Brothers Harriman’s view that above-target inflation and a more favorable domestic growth outlook point to more RBNZ hikes, and recalled that on July 8 the RBNZ lifted the Official Cash Rate by 25 bps to 2.50%, signaling further increases appear likely.