Upbeat Jobs Data Buoys Australian Dollar

The Australian dollar traded higher against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Thursday, as the nation's job growth exceeded forecasts in December, while the jobless rate fell, fueling hopes for an early rate hike by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that Australia's jobless rate came in at a seasonally adjusted 4.2 percent in December - beating handily expectations for 4.5 percent and down from 4.6 percent in November.

The Australian economy added 64,800 jobs last month, blowing away forecasts for an increase of 43,300 following the addition of 366,100 in November.

China's move to lower borrowing costs helped lift sentiment.

The People's Bank of China reduced the one-year loan prime rate by 10 basis points to 3.70 percent.

The five-year LPR was slashed by 5 basis points to 4.6 percent.

The aussie spiked up to 6-day highs of 0.7257 against the greenback and 0.9067 against the loonie, rising from its prior lows of 0.7207 and 0.9013, respectively. The aussie is seen finding resistance around 0.75 against the greenback and 1.54 against the loonie.

The aussie climbed to a fresh 2-week high of 1.5652 against the euro and a 2-day high of 82.85 against the yen, up from its previous lows of 1.5736 and 82.39, respectively. The next key resistance for the aussie is likely seen around 1.54 against the euro and 84.00 against the yen.

The aussie touched 1.0704 against the kiwi for the first time since July 14. On the upside, 1.09 is likely seen as the next resistance level for the aussie.

Looking ahead, Eurozone final CPI for December is set for release in the European session.

The European Central Bank publishes the account of the monetary policy meeting of the Governing Council held on December 15-16 at 7:30 am ET.

U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended January 15 and existing home sales for December will be published in the New York session.

AUD vs Yen (FX:AUDJPY)
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