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2019.03.0702:20:00UTC+00Australian Dollar Higher After Strong Trade Data

The Australian dollar was higher against its major opponents in the Asian session on Thursday, as a data showed that nation's trade surplus grew more than forecast in January, driven by higher exports.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that Australia recorded a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade surplus of A$4.549 billion in January.

That exceeded expectations for a surplus of A$2.90 billion and was up A$780 million from the upwardly revised A$3.769 billion surplus in December.

Exports were up 5.0 percent on month, while imports picked up 3.0 percent.

Separate data showed that Australia's retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent on month in January, coming in at A$27.018 billion.

That was shy of expectations for a gain of 0.3 percent following the 0.4 percent decline in December.

Asian markets were mixed after the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development downgraded its growth forecast for Group of 20 nations, saying that trade disputes and economic uncertainty over Brexit would hit world commerce and businesses.

The aussie advanced to 1.6031 against the euro and 0.7052 against the greenback, from its early low of 1.6111 and a 2-month low of 0.7020, respectively. The aussie is poised to challenge resistance around 1.58 against the euro and 0.72 against the greenback.

The aussie edged up to 78.76 against the yen, following a decline to near a 3-week low 78.33 at 7:30 pm ET. If the aussie rises further, 81.5 is possibly seen as its next resistance level.

The Australian currency strengthened to a 2-week high of 0.9479 against the loonie, from a low of 0.9439 hit at 7:30 pm ET. The aussie is seen finding resistance around the 0.96 level.

The aussie rebounded to 1.0391 against the kiwi, from a low of 1.0369 seen at 7:30 pm ET. On the upside, 1.05 is possibly seen as the next resistance level for the aussie.

Looking ahead, U.K. Halifax house prices for February and Eurozone GDP data for the fourth quarter are due in the European session.

At 7:45 am ET, the European Central Bank announces its decision on interest rates. Economists expect the refi rate and the marginal lending facility rate to be kept at 0.00 percent and 0.25 percent, respectively.

In the New York session, Canada building permits for January, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended March 2 and consumer credit for January are scheduled for release.

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