AUD Declines on Weak Labor Data, Sliding Unemployment Rate

The Australian Dollar (AUD) saw a decline in value after the release of weak labor market data. The AUD/USD pair traded around 0.7120 during Asian hours on Thursday, following over 0.5% gains the previous day.

Australia's Unemployment Rate rose to 4.5% in July, exceeding market expectations of 4.4%. Employment Change plummeted by 15.8K jobs, a sharp contraction compared to June's 80.2K gain and below the projected 15.0K growth.

Rabobank strategists note that market expectations for further Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) tightening remain modest, with 'market implied policy rates ... currently priced for just 12 bps of rate hikes on a 3-month view.'