Aussie Dollar Strengthens Ahead of Key Jobs Report
AUD
The Aussie Dollar opens slightly up against the majors bar the greenback ahead of todays key employment data release. Asian equities finished lower yesterday with the Shenzhen -1.4%, the Hang Seng and Nikkei both at -.1% Locally, the ASX 200 closed -.6% as the financials and materials sectors led losses of -1.4% and -.9% respectively. A quiet day for data locally yesterday, but across Asia, a flurry of Chinese economic data was released. Chinese CPI y/y came in at 0.9% (exp. 1.0%) from a previous 0.8% and PPI y/y came in at 5.0% (exp. 4.4%) from a previous 3.8%, the report showed that producer prices in China are rising at the fastest pace since June 2022. The main event today will be the release of the Australian employment data which will be out at 11:30AM AEST. Employment Change is currently forecasted at 19.6K from a previous 39.5K, while the Unemployment Rate is expected to stay steady at 4.6%.
USD
AUDUSD opens lower this morning at a rate of 0.6971 following a hotter than expected inflation print which boosted the US Dollar. On Wall St. the Nasdaq closed -1.9%, the S&P 500 -1.1%, and the Dow Jones -0.1%. US 10-year yields fell 1bps to 5.19%, while Brent Crude was steady at $106.10 a barrel. US CPI for September came in generally higher than forecasts with Core CPI m/m coming in at 0.3% (exp 0.2%), CPI m/m unchanged at 0.6% and CPI y/y at 3.7% (exp 3.6%). Following the release of the data, markets increased the odds of a 25 bps hike in October to around 50%, up from a 22% chance the previous day. Some more major data for the US is due overnight with PPI m/m, Retail Sales m/m, Philly Fed Manufacturing Index and Unemployment Claims all set to release. PPI data for September is expected to accelerate slightly to 0.5% MoM and as an early inflation indicator, markets will focus on components linked to core PCE.
EUR
AUDEUR opens in the green at 0.6249 as ongoing political and budget anxieties in France continue to linger. European equities closed on a positive note with the DAX and CAC coming in at +0.2% and +0.6% respectively. Some key commentary from ECB members yesterday provided an insight into the boards potential thinking, with ECB President Lagarde noting that the ECB must watch for clues and act before potential risks come fully into view. ECB's Simkus noted at the EU Economic Summit that "recent data suggests more tightening may be needed". Some minor data out later today with Industrial Production m/m and day two of the EU Economic Summit will commence.
GBP
AUDGBP opens higher at 0.5286 this morning ahead of the UK's GDP release later this afternoon. UK equities closed in the green with the FTSE up +0.7%. A quiet day for data out of the UK, with the only point of interest being BoE Chief Economist Pill's commentary at the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group. He noted that markets may be overestimating the prospect of four rate hikes over the next twelve months. Later today, GDP m/m is set for release and is currently forecasted at -0.1% from a previous 0.4%. BOE Gov Bailey is also set to speak at the Bloomberg Global Policy Series, in Bangkok.
NZD
AUDNZD opens up at a rate of 1.2473 after reaching as low as 1.2427 yesterday. Some minor data out tomorrow for New Zealand with FPI m/m due early morning.