Aussie dollar trades above US$0.68

Daily Currency Update

The Australian dollar is slightly stronger this morning when valued against the Greenback, currently trading at 0.6801 at time of writing. The AUD/USD pair posts a fresh eight-month high in Thursday’s European session. The Aussie asset strengthens as the US dollar retreats in the aftermath of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy announcement. On the local front yesterday, the jobless rate in August was 4.2%, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday, matching the July figure and economists' expectations. Australia’s economy added more jobs than expected in August as the unemployment rate remained steady, making a Reserve Bank interest rate cut less likely in the short term. Employers added a net 47,500 jobs last month compared with the 26,000 economists had predicted. Of the added jobs, more than 50,000 were part time, with 3,100 full-time roles shed. The participation rate remained at a record high 67.1 per cent last month. The employment-to-population ratio lifted slightly, to 64.3 per cent, so it's now sitting just below its record high of 64.4 per cent. That is also unlikely to pressure the RBA into a September cut, with Governor Michele Bullock last month acknowledging the two nations have different rate cycles at the moment. She signaled the RBA would be unlikely to follow the Fed's decisions, instead earmarking a potential rise in the Australian dollar on the back of a higher American cash rate.