Forex Market: AUD/USD surges as Australian jobs gain three times more than forecasts

Australian dollar rose against its US counterpart on trading Thursday, as a report showed the number of job positions, employers in Australia added, climbed over three times more compared to what was initially estimated, while the jobless rate remained steady in February.

AUD/USD climbed to a session high at 0.9081 at 4:35 GMT, also the pairs highest level since March 7th, after which consolidation followed at 0.9063, rising 0.83% for the day. Support was likely to be received at March 12th low, 0.8924, while resistance was to be encountered at March 7th high, 0.9134.

Employers in Australia hired 47 300 people in February compared to January, when employment increased by a revised up 18 000, according to official numbers by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Experts had anticipated that the number of new employees will increase by 15 300 last month. Full-time employment increased by 80 500, which has been the most considerable rate of change since August 1991.

At the same time, the rate of unemployment in the country remained steady at 6.0% in February, a level last registered in July 2003.

Part-time employment decreased by 33 300 last month, while the number of people looking for a job unexpectedly rose. This data contributed to the extremely complex economic situation in the country, after the investment boom in the mining sector has faded.

“It’s a very strong jobs report, driven by full-time employment,” said Annette Beacher, the Singapore-based head of Asia-Pacific research at TD Securities Inc., cited by Bloomberg News. “It’s a welcome relief after a soggy week. Once the rest of the world sees the number, we’ll be back to 91” US cents per Australian dollar.

The yield on Australian three-year bonds rose six basis points, or 0.06 percentage point, to reach 2.99%, after earlier having climbed to 3.07%, which has been the highest level since December 11th.

The Australian currency pared a certain portion of its daily gains, following the release of weaker than expected data from China. According to a report by the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, industrial production rose 8.6% in February compared to a year ago, or below preliminary estimates pointing to a 9.5% gain.

Retail sales in the country climbed at an annualized rate of 11.8% in February, while the median estimate of experts pointed to an increase by 13.5%.

The Aussie tends to be sensitive to data coming out of China, as the latter is Australias largest export partner.

Meanwhile, the overall value of retail sales in the United States probably increased 0.2% in February compared to a month ago, when sales dropped 0.4%. The Census Bureau is expected to publish the official figures at 12:30 GMT. Retail sales, as an indicator, provide clues over the tendency in nations consumer spending, which on the other hand is a key component of the Gross Domestic Product. Better than expected rate of change will certainly heighten the appeal of the US dollar.

In addition, the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the United States probably increased by 7 000 to 330 000 during the week ended on March 8th. The weekly report is due to be released also at 12:30 GMT today.

Elsewhere, the Aussie was gaining against the euro, with EUR/AUD cross down 0.51% on a daily basis to trade at 1.5385 at 8:04 GMT.

AUD/NZD rose 0.29% to trade at 1.0574 at 8:05 GMT. The pair earlier touched a session low at 1.0553, after Reserve Bank of New Zealand decided to raise its benchmark interest rate by 0.25% at the policy meeting, or the first increase in rates since March 9th 2011. RBNZ Governor Graeme Wheeler said that banks monetary policy may be further tightened during this year in order to curb inflationary pressure. The central bank expects to boost borrowing costs by about 2 percentage points during the next two years, as the pace will be in dependence on economic data.