Australian dollar hits four-year low

THE Australian dollar hit a four-year low after the release of strong US employment figures.

Australian Dollars

THE Australian dollar hit a four-year low after the release of strong US employment figures.

At 0700 AEDT on Monday, the local unit was trading at 86.82 US cents, down from 87.97 cents on Friday.

Early on Saturday morning, Australian time, it dropped as low as 86.43 US cents, its weakest level since July 2010.

The fall came after the US Labor Department reported that there were 248,000 new jobs in September, which sent the unemployment rate down to a six-year low of 5.9 per cent.

Westpac senior market strategist Imre Speizer said the data gave the US dollar a boost which sent the Australian dollar, and most other currencies. lower.

“The US dollar surged on Friday after a stronger than expected September non-farm payrolls release,” he said.

“The US continues to create jobs faster than Federal Reserve officials expect, underpinning risks that the Fed may begin to raise interest rates before mid-2015.

“Both the Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar shed more than one US cent on the strong US data.” Trade in Australian financial markets is expected to quiet on Monday, with parts of the country off for the Queen’s Birthday public holiday.

Currency snapshot at 0700 AEDT on Monday

One Australian dollar buys:

* 86.82 US cents, from 87.97 cents on Friday

* 95.23 Japanese yen, from 95.75 yen

* 69.39 euro cents, from 69.59 euro cents

* 111.73 New Zealand cents, from 111.69 NZ cents

* 54.41 British pence, from 54.58 pence

One euro buys:

* 125.12 US cents, from 126.44 cents

* 137.24 Japanese yen, from 137.63 yen

One US dollar buys:

* 109.68 Japanese yen, from 108.85 yen

(*Closes taken at 1700 AEDT previous local session)

Source: IRESS

Originally published as Australian dollar hits four-year low