Sterling moves in positive zone after strong growth data

The Australian dollar fell against most major rivals on Thursday despite strong labor data.

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.

On trading, the AUD/USD pair fell 0.4% as of 19:06 GMT to $0.6403.

Sterling

The GBP/USD price rose 0.2% as of 19:06 GMT to $1.3293.

Earlier government data showed the UK GDP growth rate at 0.2% in the first quarter, beating expectations of no changes.

The US Dollar

The US dollar index fell 0.1% as of 18:59 GMT to 100.9, with a session-high at 101.06, and a low at 100.5.

Earlier data showed US producer prices rose 2.4% y/y in April, below estimates of a 2.5% rise, and down from 2.7% in the previous reading.

US retail sales rose 0.1% in April, beating expectations of no change, but below March’s 1.4% increase.

US unemployment claims were unchanged at 229 thousand in the week ending May 10, same as the previous reading, and matching expectations. 

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned today from the increasing chances of supply shocks and subsequent higher prices in upcoming years, adding the Fed will amend its framework to account for fundamental changes in inflation and interest rate forecasts.