The Australian dollar was mixed today following confusing macroeconomic data. The currency gained on such rivals as the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc, but fell versus the euro and was flat against the US dollar.
The Westpac/Melbourne Institute Leading Index rose 0.1% in September from the previous month after falling by 0.1% in August. But the six month annualized growth rate, which suggests the likely pace of economic activity relative to trend three to nine months into the future, dipped from â0.16% in August â0.21% in September. Westpacâs Chief Economist Bill Evans commented on the reading:
The growth rate remains negative pointing to below trend momentum and a sharp turnaround from strong positive, above trend reads at the start of the year.
AUD/USD traded near the opening level of 0.7844 as of 16:54 GMT today after falling to 0.7818 earlier. EUR/AUD advanced from 1.4994 to 1.5027.
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