The Australian Dollar rose on Monday as investors reacted to strong economic data releases and rising commodity prices. The AUD/USD is up 0.65% at the time of writing as the commodity-linked currency reaped the benefits of a jump in commodity prices, with Oil and Precious Metals posting healthy daily gains.
Australian Home Prices
Australian home prices rose again in April. However, the rate of growth slowed a little as affordability became more of a pressing issues as the prices of houses moved out of reach for many buyers.
Data from CoreLogic, a property consultanty firm, showed thatt national home prices in Australia rose 1.8% in April. This followed a 2.8% growth in March which was the largest gain in 32 years.
On an annual basis, Australian house prices were up 7.8%. Aussie house prices rose 6.8% in the three months to April.
Sydney saw the largest house price growth, rising 2.4% in April. Melbourne grew 1.3%, Brisbane 1.7% and Perth 0.8%.
Tim Lawless, CoreLogic’s research director, did, however, issue a warning over future growth. Lawless said:
“With housing prices rising faster than incomes, it’s likely price sensitive sectors of the market, such as first home buyers and lower income households, are finding it harder to save for a deposit and transactional costs,”
Tim Lawless
Encouragingly, demand for property in April outside cities saw regional prices rise by a record 1.9%, providing an annual increase of 13%.
Buyers in Australia have been boosted by the prospects of low borrowing costs in the future. The Reserve Bank of Australia has repeatedly said that rates are likely to remain at its historic low of 0.1% until at least 2024.
Australia Jobs Ads Rise
Other economic news released on Monday showed that Australian job advertisements increased for an 11th successive month in April. Last month’s figures were also the highest in 12 years. The strong data suggests the healthy demand for labour will mean the Australian labour market be able to withstand the loss of some government emergency support programmes once they are removed.
Figures from Australia and New Zealand Banking Group revealed that total job ads increased 4.7% in April from March. which saw an 7.8% increase.
The 196,612, ads in April were the highest level since 2008. Last month’s figures were also up nearly 200% from the previous year when the pandemic lockdowns starting shutting many industries.
Australian Dollar Makes Gains
A surge in precious metals after posting a second successive week of losses boosted the AUD. Silver rose by more than 4% and Gold rose around 1.5%. Meanwhile, Oil and Gas also rose as the commodities markets enjoyed a strong day of gains.
As well as a sold rise against the American Dollar, the AUD rose 0.62 against the Japanese Yen and 0.05% against the Euro.
