The currency markets of Australia and New Zealand were under pressure, which led to a decline in the Australian and New Zealand dollars to 9-month lows. The reason was weak labor market data and the difference in monetary policy with the United States. Statistics on the Australian labor market came out worse than expected: the unemployment rate increased to 3.7%, and the number of jobs decreased by 14,600. A little earlier, earnings data for the second quarter also came out, which also turned out to be weaker than forecasts. As a result, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has confirmed that the labor market has reached a turning point. According to economists, this may indicate the end of the monetary policy tightening cycle. This conclusion is also supported by market expectations, according to which the probability of an increase in the RBA interest rate next month is estimated at only 50%. On the other hand, the US Federal Reserve System continues to demonstrate a tougher stance, which contributes to the strengthening of the US currency. As for New Zealand, its Reserve Bank is trying to show more determination by revising interest rate forecasts and pushing back the period of its possible reduction to 2025. Nevertheless, internal factors have less impact on the New Zealand dollar, compared to factors related to the Chinese economy, investor risks and stock prices. Thus, the AUD/USD pair declined to 0.6365, breaking through technical support around 0.6400. The NZD/USD pair dropped 0.5% to 0.5903. Since the beginning of the week, it has already sunk by 1.2%.
