Investing.com - The Australian dollar rallied over 1% against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, boosted by strong Australian employment data, although expecations for a December rate hike in the U.S. also continued to support the greenback.
AUD/USD hit 0.7154 during late Asian trade, the pair's highest since November 6; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7145, jumping 1.18%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7021, Wednesday's low and resistance at 0.7225, the high of November 4.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday that the number of employed people increased by 58.600 last month, blowing past expectations for a 15.000 rise. The number of employed people fell by 800 in September, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 5.100 drop.
Australia's unemployment rate ticked down to 5.9% in October from 6.2% the previous month, compared to expectations for an unchanged reading.
But the greenback remained supported as last week's strong U.S. employment data paved the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at its December meeting.
Market participants were turning their attention to a speech by Fed Chair Janet Yellen due later in the day, with hopes for further indications on the timing of a potential rate hike.
The Aussie was also sharply higher against the euro, with EUR/AUD tumbling 1.11% to 1.5046.