SYDNEY, April 18 (Reuters) - The Australian dollar made some cautious gains on Thursday as rising iron ore prices lent support and the U.S. dollar's ascent paused, while overlooking declining local employment numbers as the prospects of interest rate cuts still seem some way off.
The Aussie rose 0.1% to $0.6444, after advancing 0.5% overnight in the first gain in four sessions. It now faces resistance at $0.6450, while support at $0.6340 holds for now.
The kiwi dollar was flat at $0.5917, having bounced 0.7% overnight on still sticky domestically driven inflation.
The two currencies drew some support from a revival of risk sentiment as Asian stocks gained 1% amid a slowdown in the ascent of the U.S. dollar. Iron ore prices jumped 3% while coal surged 4%, helping provide support to the commodity-centric Australian dollar.
Local data showed that Australian employment fell by 6,600 jobs in March after a blockbuster February, although the uptick in the jobless rate missed expectations, in a sign that the labour market remained relatively tight.
"We need a few more labour market prints for greater clarity but at this juncture, today's labour force is consistent with the risks to our RBA base case of a later start to an easing cycle and a smaller cycle," said Su-Lin Ong, chief economist at RBC Capital Markets.
"A patient RBA is likely to stay on the sidelines for some time."
Markets have already slashed bets the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut rates this year, with swaps implying only a 65% probability of a rate cut in December, meaning even one rate cut this year is not guaranteed.
The three-year government bond yield rose 3 basis points to $3.901%, while the 10-year government bond yield held at 4.306%.
(Reporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
