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Aussie climbs as jobs data beats estimates
AUD/USD rose as much as 0.33% to hit an intra-day high of 0.7168 after the economy added more jobs than expected in December. Australia added a net 21,600 jobs, more than the 16,500 economists had expected. A slight negative note was that 24,600 part-time jobs were added with a loss of 3,000 full-time ones, the second monthly decline in a row. The unemployment rate dipped to 5.0% from 5.1%, equaling the seven-year lows of September and October, though this could be attributed partly to the slide in the participation rate to 65.6% from 65.7%. In other Australia news, National Australia Bank announced that it was ... (full story)