SYDNEY: The Australian currency jumped to a 20-day high on Thursday (16 April) as the March jobs data surprised on the higher side while the weakness in the US currency after ECB President Mario Draghi’s confident stand at Wednesday’s policy review aided the Aussie gains.
The AUD/USD rose to 0.7784, its highest since 27 March, from the previous close of 0.7681. The pair had been rising after hitting a low of 0.7551 on 13 April, and has since gained 2.6% up to Thursday’s high.
However, the Aussie currency overall remains weak as the 13 April low was just a shade away from the six-year low of 0.7533 touched on 2 April.
Australia’s unemployment rate slipped to a three-month low of 6.1% in March from February’s 6.2%, and moving further off the 13-year high of 6.4% at the start of this year.
The number of employed was up by 37,700 from an increase of 41,900 in February, beating market expectations of a 15,000 rise. Also, the February number was a sharp upward revision from 15,600.
