Gold sharpens decline to five-week trough before Powell’s remarks

The Australian dollar rose in Asian trade on Thursday against a basket of major rivals, resuming gains against the US dollar and approaching a five-month high following strong Australian data.

The data renewed the pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s policymakers and tanked the odds of a rate cut next week.

The Price

The AUD/USD price rose 0.4% today to $0.6458, with a session-low at $0.6422.

The pair lost 0.65% on Wednesday away from a week high at $65.02, and after marking a five-month high at 65.15 last week.

Australian Labor Sector 

Australia’s unemployment rate was unchanged in April at 4.1%, same as March, and matching expectations.

The Australian economy added 89.0 thousand new jobs in April, easily beating estimates of a 20.9 thousand addition, while March’s reading was revised to show the addition of 32.2 thousand jobs instead of 36.4 thousand.

The data renewed inflationary pressures on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s policymakers, which hurt the odds of a rate cut in May.

The RBA held interest rates unchanged at 4.1% at the previous April meeting but opened the door for a May rate cut.

The current odds of such a rate cut by the RBA in May currently stand at 75%.

The recent reduction of global trade tensions led analysts to reduce their expectations for Australian rate cuts this year.

The markets now expect the RBA to cut rates to 3.1% by the end of the year, up from 2.85% in previous forecasts.