The British pound is higher against the Australian dollar on Thursday.
A higher number of Australian job losses in combination with more than expected Australians dropping out of the workforce in April dented demand for the Aussie dollar.
Some bearish pressure on the pound was relieved by weakness in the US dollar after US weekly jobless claims were more than expected.
The Pound versus the Australian dollar was up by 37 pips (+0.19%) to 1.8981 as of 3pm GMT.
GBP/AUD regained 100 pips from lows to highs of the day, briefly retaking 1.90 before edging back. Yesterday the exchange rate slipped -0.2% leaving it flat on the week at -0.05%.
GBP: Pound gets some relief as USD pulls back
In periods of US dollar strength, notably in March but also in the first half of this week, the British pound has been a notable loser. A retracement in the dollar on Thursday afternoon allowed Sterling to regain some footing.
The dollar had seen some early strength after Fed Chair Powell dismissed the chance of negative interest rates in the United States in a speech on Thursday. However, higher than expected jobless claimed pulled it back down. Nearly three million more Americans filed for jobless claims last week, leaving a shocking total of 36 million since lockdowns began.
News of a reportedly ‘100% accurate’ immunity test for the coronavirus in the UK added to some enthusiasm for the pound.
AUD: Bigger drop in employment change but unemployment rate lower
The Australian jobs report on top of waning risk appetite in markets and some stabilisation in the British pound meant the Australian dollar added to early losses after Australian labour market data.
It was a mixed Australian jobs report that saw a bigger fall in employment than expected but the unemployment rate did not jump as much as feared.
An unemployment rate of 6.2% rather than the 8.3% expected is largely explained by a drop in the ‘participation rate’ i.e. the number of Australians seeking full time work. More Australians left the workplace than expected but those seeking to return to work also dropped.
