Early Wednesday in Asia, the Australian headline Wage Price Index for the third quarter (Q3) grew 1.3% QoQ versus 1.3% expected and 0.8% prior, according to the the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

On the annual basis, the Aussie Wage Price Index came in at 4.0% versus the market’s forecast of 3.9% figure for the said period and 3.6% in the previous reading.

Market reaction

Following the Aussie wage growth, the AUD/USD pair is down 0.23% on the day at 0.6493.

About Australia’s 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).