Investing.com - The Australian dollar fell against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday following the release of a disappointing jobs report, while the Japanese yen rose on safe-haven demand.
The AUD/USD pair dropped 0.3% to 0.6906 by 12:05 AM ET (04:05 GMT) after data showed the unemployment rate held above 5% in May, despite a surge in hiring. The data highlights the challenge facing the country's central bank as it tries to lower unemployment and spur inflation.
The NZD/USD pair slipped 0.1%.
The USD/JPY pair was down 0.2% to 108.32. The Japanese yen attracted some safe-haven demand today as Asian stocks fell. Mass protests in Hong Kong and concerns over the trade war between China and the U.S. were cited as headwind for risk assets.
The U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies slipped 0.1% to 96.925 after rising more than 0.3% overnight.
Data released on Wednesday showed U.S. consumer prices barely rose in May, pointing to moderate inflation that together with a slowing economy increased pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates this year.
The USD/CNY pair inched up 0.1% to 6.9207.
State-controlled newspaper China Daily said Beijing might cut rates or reserve ratio requirements to combat “downside risks” amid the ongoing trade tensions with the U.S.The news came after data on Wednesday showed China's broad money supply and new yuan loans grew more slowly than expected in May.
Last week, People's Bank of China chief Yi Gang said last week the central bank has “plenty of room in interest rates.”
“We have plenty of room in the required reserve ratio rate, and also for the fiscal, monetary policy toolkit, I think the room for adjustment is tremendous," Yi said.