Australian Wage Price Index: +0.7% vs. expected +0.8%, AUD/USD drops 20 pips

The Australian Wage Price Index released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is out as follows:

• +0.7% vs. expected +0.8%

The data has weighed on the price of AUD. AUD/USD is losing 20 pips on the release to 0.6998 the low of the session so far.

About the Wage Price Index

The Wage Price Index released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is an indicator of labor cost inflation and of the tightness of labor markets. The Reserve Bank of Australia pays close attention to it when setting interest rates. A high reading is positive (or bullish) for the AUD, while a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).