AUD Trades Flat as US Data Diverges
AUD
The AUD has opened up flat against the majors. It has been fairly quiet locally, with some minor data only. ANZ Job Advertisements m/m fell 0.8% in November, marking the fifth straight monthly decline and reflecting a cooling labor market, particularly in Queensland and Victoria. However, Software Development is bucking the trend with rising job ads, potentially driven by demand for skills in Artificial Intelligence. A mixed session for Asian equities saw the Shenzhen trading +1.1%, Hang Seng +0.7%, while the Nikkei fell by -1.9%. Locally the ASX 200 shed -0.6% as healthcare and technology sectors lost -1.7% and -1.3%. In terms of local data ahead, tomorrow we are due for our Aussie GDP, which is expected to increase from 0.6% last reading to 0.7%.
USD
The AUD/USD rate opens up at 0.6543 after retracing from highs of 0.6566. Overnight we saw the ISM US Manufacturing PMI unexpectedly fall to 48.2 in November, marking the ninth consecutive month of contraction in the sector and missing analyst expectations. This decline was driven by a continued slump in New Orders and a faster rate of employment cuts, signaling ongoing weakness in US factory activity. Despite the slowdown in demand, the Prices Paid index rose, indicating that manufacturers are still facing increasing input costs. A soft session to start the week saw the Dow Jones trading -0.7%, and both the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones -0.4% late in the North American session. For the week ahead we have ADP Non-Farm Employment Change, which is expected to drop to a measly 7K jobs, out early Friday morning.
EUR
The AUD/EUR opens up at 0.5637 following a quiet session out of the Eurozone. Later tonight, Macquarie Strategy expects core CPI for November to remain steady at 2.4% YoY. Softer consumer demand growth and easing wage pressures have likely kept core inflation contained. The Eurozone unemployment rate, due out tonight, is likely to have remained steady at 6.3% in October. PMI data indicates employment growth has improved a little, sufficient to keep unemployment steady. European equities started the session lower with the DAX -1.1%, CAC -0.5%, Stoxx -0.4%.
GBP
The AUD/GBP opens up at 0.4951, basically unchanged from yesterdays open. UK Prime Minister Starmer held a speech where he emphasized the importance of reducing inflation as a key driver for economic growth and called for a productivity revolution in the country. He expressed a commitment to addressing excessive costs across the UK economy and advocated for moving towards a closer relationship with the European Union. Today we have a flurry of minor data out of the UK, although nothing is expected to move markets. Furthermore, the FTSE closed down by 0.2%.
NZD
The AUD/NZD opens in line with yesterday at 1.1427. This morning the Overseas Trade Index q/q printed at -2.1%, way below expectations of 0.3%. Tomorrow, we have some more minor data out, with their GDT Price Index forecast to come out at -3.0%, as well as the ANZ Commodity Prices m/m expected to print at -0.3%.