SYDNEY: The Australian dollar has barely moved on Thursday morning despite the release of jobs figures showing a rise in the unemployment rate.
The Australian dollar was worth US79.72c at 12.00pm (AEST), level with the local close on Wednesday.
During the morning it traded in a range between, US79.25c and US79.79c.
The unemployment rate met market expectations, rising to a seasonally adjusted 6.2 per cent in April, after the number of people with jobs fell 2,900, official figures show.
Western Union Business Solutions currency strategist Steven Dooley said the Australian dollar got a small boost after the jobs numbers despite them appearing to be quite negative.
“Markets look at the long term trend, and the long term trend is pretty impressive, we’ve had three readings over the last six months of a gain of over 40,000 jobs,” he said.