As reported at 11:19 a.m. (GMT) in London, the U.S. Dollar continued to weaken in Thursday trading following better than expected jobs data from Australia, which helped to prop up the AUD.
Expectations were that Australia’s labor department would show an increase to 5.9% in the country’s unemployment rate; instead, the report indicated that the unemployment rate fell from 5.8% to 5.7%; according to the report, 40,600 new positions were created in September.
That positive economic news spurred the Australian Dollar to a new 14-month high versus the U.S. Dollar, trading at $.9041; an increase on the day of 1.5%.
Further suppressing the greenback was the release of positive corporate earnings report from Alcoa Inc., the giant U.S. aluminum producer, which reported an unexpected 3rd quarter profit.
Given the recent positive economic signs coming from all corners of the globe, investors are looking for profits, thus spurring demand for higher yielding currencies, such as the Australian Dollar and its’ New Zealand counterpart, as well as the single currency Euro, while shunning the low-yielding greenback.
The U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback’s value against major currencies, was down .7% in London, trading at 75.96 .DXY and nearing the year’s low established last month. The Euro gained .6% against the U.S. Dollar, to trade at $1.4770.