AUD/USD climbed 0.61% to 1.0236, after a surprisingly strong April jobs report. The Australian Statistics Bureau said the economy there added 50,100 new jobs last month, nearly five times the consensus estimate that called for the addition of 11,000 jobs. The March number was revised lower to 31,000. Australia’ unemployment rate fell to 5.5%, also beating economists’ expectations for a reading of 5.6%. Full-time jobs rose by 34,500 while part-time jobs increased by 15,600. Participation in the labor force rose to 65.3% from 65.2%. The news comes after the Reserve Bank of Australia lowered interest rates to 2.75% earlier this week marking Australia’s lowest borrowing rate in more than five decades. The central bank has slashed rates by 2% in less than two years. AUD/JPY rose 0.47% to 101.28, AUD/NZD inched lower by 0.05% to 1.2099.
