The Australian dollar was little changed today against some rivals, while falling versus the strong yen, amid mixed domestic macroeconomic data, poor data from China (Australia’s biggest trading partner), and escalating trade wars between China and the United States.
Talking about Australian economic reports, on the positive side, retail sales rose 0.6% in February from January (seasonally adjusted), two times the forecast rate of increase. On the negative side, building approvals dropped 6.2%, more than analysts had predicted — 5.1%.
As for data from China, the Caixin China General Services PMI slipped from 54.2 in February to 52.3 in March. That was a total surprise to economists, who were counting on an increase to 54.5.
Adding to the negative factors were trade wars between China and the USA. The news about the escalating conflict was bad for every risky asset, but especially for those who were directly linked to the well-being of the Chinese economy.
AUD/USD traded at 0.7677 as of 12:24 GMT today after opening at 0.7682 and rising to the daily high of 0.7717. EUR/AUD was at about 1.5990 following the rally from 1.5967 to 1.6056. AUD/JPY declined from 81.92 to 81.47.
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