The Australian dollar rose on Thursday after a solid labour market report but the uptick was contained as the sharp jump in jobs was still not enough to push the unemployment rate lower, while New Zealand's currency was largely steady.
The Australian dollar advanced more than 0.5 percent to as high as $0.7444 after official data showed 50,900 net new jobs were added in June, blowing past expectations of 17,000. It was the largest monthly gain since November. The Aussie has come back a bit to last trade around $0.7428.
The upbeat report would be welcome news for policymakers but the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is looking for further falls in unemployment which stayed stuck at 5.4 percent as more people went looking for work. The jobless rate has ranged between 5.4 to 5.6 percent for almost a year now. Across the Tasman Sea, the New Zealand dollar was largely flat, around $0.6788, pausing after three consecutive sessions of gains. The kiwi hit a near two-year low of $0.6688 earlier this month amid worries about escalating global trade tensions.
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