Australian dollar steady ahead of key US jobs data

Financial and commodity markets analytics

The Australian dollar is stable today, holding up pretty well after the release of disappointing local retail sales data.

At 8.23pm (AEDT) the Australian dollar is trading at US 81.23 cents virtually unchanged from yesterday’s close of US81.22 cents.

Retail sales in Australia rose by 0.1% in November missing analysts forecasts of a 0.2% rise which was disappointing considering the run up to Christmas and the New Year period where shoppers usually like to open there wallets.

“The unemployment factor is starting weigh on consumers’ minds” noted analysts from Fibogroup forex brokers

“The Jobless rate in Australia is sitting at 6.3%, its highest level in 12 years and this has to have people a little nervous”.

They also mentioned that one of the effects of a falling Australian dollar is a lower exchange rate which is connected with purchases of goods from overseas,

The Australian dollar is down more than 15% this year against its US counterpart which definitely cuts in to the purchasing power of consumers as most imported goods are priced in US dollars”.

Later today the market will await the release of key employment data as the latest non-farm payrolls report from the US hits the market.

Unemployment in the US currently sits at 5.8%, its lowest level in 6 years and was one of the stellar economic performers for the American economy in 2014.

There will be a lot of hype in the lead up to the release of the non-farm payrolls with the US dollar likely to strengthen against most major currencies if the data lives up to expectations.