Aussie dollar trades around US$0.67

Daily Currency Update

The Australian dollar is slightly stronger this morning when valued against the Greenback currently trading at 0.6698 at time of writing. The AUD/USD pair extended its recovery momentum on Friday with a positive risk tone and hawkish Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) expectations due to strong local data underpinning the Aussie. A consolidating US dollar also helped the pair to rise. On the data front last week an unexpectedly low unemployment rate has seen 10 million Australians have a full-time job for the first time in history, likely scuppering any chance of a pre-Christmas interest rate cut. New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the jobless rate last month was unchanged from August at 4.1 per cent, after 64,000 new jobs were created in September. The ABS had originally put the August rate at 4.2 per cent, only to revise it down 0.1 per cent.  The figures are slightly better than market forecasts, with economists generally expecting it to stay at 4.2 per cent or rise to 4.3. According to the data, about 10.03 million Australians have full-time work – the first time the 10 million milestone has ever been passed. Looking ahead this week and on Thursday we will see the release of the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI). A survey of about 400 purchasing managers which asks respondents to rate the relative level of business conditions including employment, production, new orders, prices, supplier deliveries, and inventories. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will also release an Annual Report.