Investing.com - The Australian dollar jumped Thursday on stronger than expected jobs data and tame inflation in China, while the New Zealand dollar gave up earlier gains after the central bank stood pat on rates.
China said August CPI rose 2.0% and PPI fell 1.2%, compared to up 2.2% year-on-year, according to expectations for CPI and minus 1.1% for PPI.
In Australia, the August labor force data showed the jobless rate dropped to 6.1% and a record 121,000 jobs added, compared to 12,000 new jobs expected and a rate of 6.3%
NZD/USD traded at 0.8193, down 0.01%, after the announcement. Elsewhere AUD/USD traded at 0.9191, up 0.36% and USD/JPY traded at 106.76, down 0.09%.
The outlook for inflation in New Zealand was revised downwards with the previous estimate it would breach the mid-point of the 1% to 3% target band in June next year pushed out to September 2016.
The New Zealand dollar, while it has fallen somewhat over the past month, has still not adjusted to reflect the 45% fall in global dairy prices since February, the RBNZ said.
"The high exchange rate continues to restrain growth in the traded sectors," said Governor Graeme Wheeler.
"Its current level remains unjustified and unsustainable. We expect further depreciation, which should be reinforced as monetary policy in the U.S. begins to normalize."
Overnight, the dollar traded largely higher against most major currencies as investors continued to take up positions betting that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates sooner in 2015 than once anticipated.
Many market participants are hoping the U.S. central bank's statement on monetary policy next week will hint at when rates may rise.
Despite disappointments here and there, U.S. economic indicators collectively point to a recovery that is gaining steam.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was flat at 84.40.
On Thursday, the U.S. is to produce its weekly report on initial jobless claims.