The Australian dollar whipsawed this morning, during Asian trade hours. After the release of labor data came in mixed. It was, overall, far from being considered weak.
The Australian economy added 34,700 jobs in the month of December. This was way better than the expected addition of 15,000. This comes after the strong print for November. This month should have supported the Aussie dollar.
However, looking at the data closely, there were issues. Fulltime jobs rose only by 15,000. Part time jobs rose only by 19,500.Both were less than November. These numbers have a more positive impact when fulltime hiring is solid. This means that the disparity may explain the Australian Dollar’s reaction.
The unemployment rate rose to 5.5 percent from 5.4 percent, as expected. Confusingly, the participation rate rose as well. It rose to 65.7 percent.
The Australian Dollar Whipsaws this Morning
Given the confusing bag of labor data, the Forex markets did not know what to do with the data. The Benchmark AUD/USD whipsawed after the release. Traders seem to focus on the negative. At least for now. The benchmark AUS/USD is now lower than when the numbers hit the news wires.
The AUD currency unit, however, has edged higher. It is now in the area which has prompted the Reserve Bank of Australia to worry publicly about the effects of “excessive currency strength” on their inflation target of two percent. So far the RBA has been very quiet this year. The financial markets have heard very little from the central bank so far this year. Traders will be waiting to hear the bank’s take on the recent AUD surge.