Ella 
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor released the Producer Price Index (PPI) for March. The data showed that the PPI increased by 0.2% on a monthly basis in March, which was lower than the expected value of 0.3%. Likewise, the core producer price index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, also posted a 0.2% gain, below expectations and last month’s figure.
The producer price index increased at an annual rate of 2.1%, lower than expected but higher than the previous reading of 1.6%. Meanwhile, the core producer price index recorded 2.4% in the same period, beating expectations and the previous reading.
Other data showed that the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits in the United States fell last week. The number of initial claims for unemployment benefits in the United States fell from 222,000 to 211,000 in the week ended April 6, which was lower than the 215,000 expected.
In view of the mixed outlook for economic data on Thursday, AUD/USD took profits after falling 1.75% on Wednesday, which pushed AUD/USD to a new weekly low of 0.6498.
Elsewhere, Federal Reserve officials remain on the sidelines on monetary policy, with New York Fed President John Williams saying recent inflation data has been disappointing. Thomas Barkin of the Richmond Fed added that “the inflation data raises questions about whether there is a change in inflation.” Finally, Boston Fed Susan Collins added that she still sees interest rate cuts in 2024, although perhaps fewer than expected.
