The Australian dollar retreated against its most-traded peers today after the monetary policy meeting of the Reserve Bank of Australia. Mixed macroeconomic data did not provide support to the currency.
The RBA left its main interest rate at 1.5%, surprising no one with such a decision. The statement remained largely unchanged, giving no hints at plans for monetary tightening in the foreseeable future.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the current account deficit shrank from A$14.7 billion to A$10.5 billion the March quarter. Still, it was above the predicted level of A$9.9 billion. On a positive note, the Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Services Index climbed from 55.2 to 59.0 in May.
As for reports from China, Australia’s biggest trading partner, the Caixin China General Services PMI remained steady at 52.9 in May, in line with market expectations.
AUD/USD fell from 0.7643 to 0.7624 as of 10:39 GMT today. EUR/AUD rose from 1.5284 to 1.5334, bouncing from the lowest level since January. AUD/JPY slid from 83.92 to 83.66.
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