AUD/USD shows a slight recovery after US PPI data underperforms expectations

On Thursday, the US Department of Labor revealed March’s Producer Price Index (PPI) with figures registering a 0.2% MoM increase, which is below the anticipated 0.3%. Similarly, the core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, also recorded a 0.2% increase, falling short of both estimates and the previous month's figure.

Annually based figures showed the PPI increasing by 2.1%, less than expected but up from February's 1.6%. Meanwhile, the core PPI over the same period stood at 2.4%, exceeding both forecasts and the figure from the prior month.

Other data revealed that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell, as Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending April 6 dipped from 222K to 211K, below estimates of 215K.

Given Thursday’s economic data's mixed outlook, AUD/USD traders booked profits following Wednesday’s plunge of 1.75%, which dragged spot prices to a fresh weekly low of 0.6498.

Elsewhere, Federal Reserve officials remain in a wait-and-see mode, led by New York Fed President John Williams, who commented that recent inflation data is disappointing. Richmond Fed Thomas Barkin added that “inflation data raise the question if we are seeing a shift.” Finally, Boston Fed Susan Collins added that she still sees rate cuts in 2024, though they could be fewer than projected.

In that regard, futures traders of Federal funds rates (FFR) are projecting that the Fed would ease policy twice, as shown by data from the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). The December 2024 contract depicts traders expect the FFR to end at 4.97%.