Australian Dollar edges higher following employment data, RBA Bullock comments

The Australian Dollar receives support from the hawkish comments from the RBA Governor Michele Bullock.

Australia’s seasonally adjusted Unemployment Rate held steady at 4.1% in October for the third consecutive month.

Traders are now shifting their focus to the US October Producer Price Index (PPI) data, set to be released on Thursday.

The Australian Dollar (AUD) breaks its four-day losing streak against the US Dollar (USD) following the key economic data release on Thursday. Australia's Consumer Inflation Expectations dropped to 3.8% in November, down from 4.0% in the previous month, reaching the lowest level since October 2021.

Australia’s seasonally adjusted Unemployment Rate remained steady at 4.1% in October for the third consecutive month, in line with market expectations. However, Employment Change showed only 15.9K new jobs added in October, falling short of the anticipated 25.0K.

Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Michele Bullock stated on Thursday that current interest rates are sufficiently restrictive and will remain so until the central bank is confident about inflation trends. Bullock noted the uncertainty surrounding potential actions by the US Federal Reserve and emphasized that the RBA will avoid making any hasty decisions.

The US Dollar (USD) hovers around 106.53, its highest level since November 2023, driven by "Trump trades" and October's US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. Donald Trump’s victory in last week’s US presidential election fueled expectations of potentially inflationary tariffs and other measures from his upcoming administration, giving a strong boost to the Greenback.