- Justin Fabo, ANZ economist
The AUD/USD currency pair moved higher this week, recovering from 0.8890 and moving above 0.8922 on the back of stronger-than-expected fundamental data from Australia.
Economy's ability to create working places is a primary gauge of economic health. The fact the number of job advertisements soared by more than 5% last month, hitting the highest level in eight months, and sending promising signs for the Oz labour market. There was an average 131,189 newspaper and internet jobs advertisements in February– the highest since May, however, the figure is 4.8% lower than in the same month a year earlier. Justin Fabo from ANZ, however, pointed out that more evidence is required to support a turnaround in the nation's labour market, as seasonally adjusted job ad figures are usually considered to be highly volatile, hence, having a muted market impact. At the same time, the participation rate remained at its lowest level since June 2006 at 64.5%.
Another key sector of the economy– housing market is recovering as well, with the number of new home sales advancing 0.5% in the first month of 2014, recovering from a 0.4% drop in December. Housing market can become one of the main drivers for the economy, as on a yearly basis sales rocketed 17%.
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