The AUDJPY exchange rate has economic data for Thursday.
AUDJPY was trading above a previous high close at 103.46 and was trying to use that as support. That will be the critical level for Thursday’s data.
The Japanese economy’s GDP growth figures for the first quarter will be released on Thursday. Markets expect a weak showing, with a move from 0.4% to -1.5%. That highlights the dilemma for the Bank of Japan, where raising interest rates anytime soon would take much work.
A rate hike could further harm the economy, and the bank will likely continue to focus on intervention to tame the yen’s fall. The GDP figure was released at 7:50 HKT.
The next release is Australian employment figures at 9:30, with a gain of 23.7k jobs expected. That would be a welcome relief after a loss of -6.6k jobs in the previous month and highlights another central bank under pressure to lower interest rates.
However, Australia’s unemployment rate is expected to drop from 3.8% to 3.9%.
Government figures said inflation in Australia will fall back within the Reserve Bank’s target range a year earlier than forecast. The statistics were shared ahead of Treasurer Jim Chalmers’s latest budget.
However, the numbers also showed that the economy grew slower than expected, and there is some “considerable uncertainty” surrounding the global and domestic economic outlook.
Chalmers said that his budget was designed to push inflation down, not up, but would also “make things a little easier for people”.
However, critics called it a “billionaire’s budget” after it emerged that all households would receive $300 off their energy bills to ease cost-of-living pressures. Citizens with several investment properties can also claim multiple rebates if the bills are in their name.
Traders will watch the latest GDP and employment data as the AUDJPY approaches the previous BOJ intervention zone.