The Australian dollar rose against some of its rivals today despite a slightly disappointing retail sales report. The gains were limited, though, as markets were quiet ahead of US nonfarm payrolls due for release later over Friday’s trading session.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that retail sales increased by 3.2% in July on a seasonally adjusted basis. Traders were hoping for the same 3.3% rate of increase as in June. The biggest gain was registered in clothing, footwear, and personal accessory retailing — 7.1%.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison signaled that the government is considering lifting the country-wide internal border control, relying instead on local lockdowns to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. He said:
Australia was not meant to be closed, Australia was meant to be open.
The Prime Minister also revealed that he wants to reopen the economy by December, allowing international arrivals. That would help the tourism industry as well as allow Australians stranded overseas to come home.
Markets were in a waiting mode today, anxious to see what nonfarm payrolls will tell about the state of the US labor market, which in turn can help to understand how healthy the US economy is. The report is scheduled to come out at 12:30 GMT. It will show employment growth, the unemployment rate, and wage inflation.
AUD/USD traded at 0.7291 as of 8:58 GMT today after opening at 0.7272 and falling to the daily low of 0.7251. EUR/AUD fell from 1.6292 to 1.6265, retreating from the session maximum of 1.6326. AUD/JPY opened at 77.23, fell to the daily low of 76.93 but rebounded to 77.41 later.
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