$A falls after strong US GDP report The Australian dollar is lower after very strong US economic growth figures raised the possibility that the US Federal Reserve could start tapering its stimulus program sooner rather than later. At 1700 AEDT on Friday, the local unit was trading at 94.65 US cents, down from 94.83 cents on Thursday. Since 0700 AEDT on Friday, the Australian dollar traded between 94.28 US cents and 94.81 cents. The US economy grew by 2.8 per cent in the 12 months to September, much stronger than the 1.9 per cent analysts were expecting. FXCM market analyst David de Ferranti said the figures sparked a US dollar rally against most major currencies, which pushed the Aussie dollar lower. "The move came as traders piled out of risky assets on expectations that stronger growth figures for the world's largest economy would imply a timelier Fed Taper, a dangerous prospect given how low (bond) yields are historically," he said. While the upbeat economic growth figures paint an encouraging picture, the decisions taken by the Federal Reserve remain very dependent on the labour market outlook. On Friday night the US Labor Department will release non-farm payrolls for October, the key American employment indicator. "Tonight's upcoming payrolls data will help provide some further colour to the pace of recovery of employment in the US and give a better indication of when the central bank may back off the stimulus gas," Mr de Ferranti said. Employment growth is expected to be 120,000, which was distorted by the government shutdown during the month, and the unemployment rate is forecast to rise by 0.1 per cent to 7.3 per cent. At 1700 AEDT, the Australian dollar was at 92.87 Japanese yen, down from Thursday's close of 93.52 yen, and at 70.62 euro cents, up from 70.10 euro cents. Meanwhile Australian bond futures prices were higher after the European Central Bank (ECB) surprised markets by cutting its interest rate. On Thursday night Australian time, the ECB cut its "refi" or refinancing rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a new record low of 0.25 per cent, to help support the struggling European economy. National Australia Bank senior economist Spiros Papadopoulos said the decision sent share markets tumbling, and helped US and Australian bond markets rally. "Concerned that the Euro zone may experience a prolonged period of low inflation, ECB President Draghi suggested there could be further policy action ahead," he said. At 1630 AEDT on Friday, the December 10-year bond futures contract was trading at 95.915 (implying a yield of 4.085 per cent), up from 95.885 (4.115 per cent) on Thursday. The December three-year bond futures contract was at 96.900 (3.100 per cent), up from 96.860 (3.140 per cent).