Investing.com - The Australian dollar moved lower against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, after the release of mixed Australian employment data, while the New Zealand dollar held steady ahead of U.S. economic reports due later in the day.
AUD/USD dropped 0.70% to 0.7669, off the more than one-month high of 0.7734 hit overnight.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday that the number of employed people declined by 9,800 in September, disappointing expectations for an increase of 15,000.
The number of employed people fell by 8,600 in August, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 3,900 slide.
The report also showed that Australia’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.6% last month, compared to expectations for an uptick to 5.7%.
In addition, the National Australia Bank said its business confidence index rose to 5 in the third quarter from 3 in the second quarter, whose figure was revised from an initial reading of 2.
NZD/USD was little changed at 0.7226, after rising to a two-week high of 0.7265 overnight.
Meanwhile, the greenback regained some ground ahead of reports on U.S. manufacturing activity, jobless claims and existing home sales, due later in the day.
Market participants were eyeing the data for further indications on the strength of the economy after recent reports painted a mixed picture.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.16% at 98.03, not far from Monday’s seven-month high of 98.15.