Aussie Falls On Disappointing Australia Employment Data

(RTTNews) - The Australian dollar weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Thursday, following the release of Australia's disappointing domestic employment data in February.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the Australian economy lost 52,800 jobs last month, well shy of expectations for an increase of 30,800 jobs following the addition of 44,000 in January.

The unemployment rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 4.1 percent in February, said on Thursday - in line with expectations and unchanged from the January reading.

Full-time employment was down 35,700 jobs following the addition of 54,100 a month earlier.

The participation rate was 66.8 percent, again missing forecasts for 67.3 percent - which would have been unchanged from the previous month.

In economic news, the People's Bank of China kept its one-year loan prime rate unchanged at 3.10 percent. Likewise, the five-year LPR, the benchmark for mortgage rates, was retained at 3.60 percent.

Both the rates were last reduced by 25 basis points each in October 2024.

The announcement came after the US Federal Reserve left its interest rate unchanged on Wednesday. But the Fed signaled that it is still likely to lower rates later this year.

In the Asian trading today, the Australian dollar fell to a 3-day low of 93.86 against the yen, from yesterday's closing value of 94.47. The aussie may test support near the 91.00 region.

The aussie slipped to 1.7232 against the euro, from Wednesday's closing value of 1.7148. On the downside, 1.75 is seen as the next support level for the aussie.

Against the U.S. and the Canadian dollars, the aussie edged down to 0.6329 and 0.9070 from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.6364 and 0.9113, respectively. If the aussie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 0.61 against the greenback and 0.88 against the loonie.

Looking ahead, the Swiss National Bank announces its monetary policy decision at 4:30 am ET. The SNB is widely expected to lower the interest rate by 25 basis points to 0.25 percent. But today's rate is likely to be the last in the current easing cycle as the currency has weakened notably over the last few months.

At 8:00 am ET, the Bank of England announces its monetary policy decision. The BoE is likely to sit tight on rates today as inflation remains sticky. The nine-member policy committee is widely seen holding the rate at 4.50 percent in a split vote.

In the New York session, Canada PPI and raw material prices for February, U.S. Current Account data for the fourth quarter, U.S. weekly jobless claims data, existing home sales for February AND U.S. Consumer Board's leading index for February are slated for release.