Australian Dollar underperforms due to risk-off mood, weak Australia labor market data

Australian Dollar Price Today

The table below shows the percentage change of Australian Dollar (AUD) against listed major currencies today. Australian Dollar was the weakest against the British Pound.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		0.13%	0.00%	0.11%	0.13%	0.27%	0.18%	0.07%
EUR	-0.13%		-0.14%	-0.02%	-0.02%	0.12%	-0.00%	-0.08%
GBP	-0.00%	0.14%		0.13%	0.12%	0.27%	0.16%	0.05%
JPY	-0.11%	0.02%	-0.13%		-0.01%	0.16%	-0.01%	-0.05%
CAD	-0.13%	0.02%	-0.12%	0.00%		0.17%	0.04%	-0.07%
AUD	-0.27%	-0.12%	-0.27%	-0.16%	-0.17%		-0.12%	-0.25%
NZD	-0.18%	0.00%	-0.16%	0.01%	-0.04%	0.12%		-0.11%
CHF	-0.07%	0.08%	-0.05%	0.05%	0.07%	0.25%	0.11%

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Australian Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent AUD (base)/USD (quote).

Market sentiment turns risk-averse following orders from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei that “near-weapons-grade uranium must stay in Iran”. This statement is contrary to Washington’s demand for a deal with Iran and could complicate ongoing peace negotiations.

S&P 500 futures are down 0.4% around 7,400, as of writing, reflecting a risk-off market mood. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, trades 0.12% higher to near 99.25.

The risk profile turned favorable on Wednesday after United States (US) President Donald Trump said that Washington is in the “final stages” of finalizing a deal with Iran.

On the domestic front, the Australian labor market report showed that the Unemployment Rate jumped to 4.5%, while it was expected to remain steady at 4.3%. The data also showed that employers fired 18.6K workers, while they were anticipated to have hired 17.5K fresh job-seekers. Signs of cooling Australian job demand would weigh on hawkish Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) bets.

Economic Indicator

Unemployment Rate s.a.

The Unemployment Rate, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, is the number of unemployed workers divided by the total civilian labor force, expressed as a percentage. If the rate increases, it indicates a lack of expansion within the Australian labor market and a weakness within the Australian economy. A decrease in the figure is seen as bullish for the Australian Dollar (AUD), while an increase is seen as bearish.

Why it matters to traders?

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) publishes an overview of trends in the Australian labour market, with unemployment rate a closely watched indicator. It is released about 15 days after the month end and throws light on the overall economic conditions, as it is highly correlated to consumer spending and inflation. Despite the lagging nature of the indicator, it affects the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) interest rate decisions, in turn, moving the Australian dollar. Upbeat figure tends to be AUD positive.