AUD Slumps as Weak Labor Data Fuels Rate-Cut Bets

The Australian Dollar slid to a session low of $0.6630 on Thursday after labor market data showed the economy shed jobs in May, defying forecasts.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.1% from 4.0% in April, and the participation rate remained steady at 66.8%, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Markets reacted sharply to the weak figures, increasing bets on an earlier interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), with money markets pricing in a 70% chance of a rate cut by September, up from around 50% before the data.