The Australian dollar reached the two-month high against the US currency before retreating and climbed to highest level in more than four months versus the euro today as growth of retail sales in Australia beat analysts’ estimates.
Australian retain sales grew 0.5 percent in May. That is compared to traders’ expectations of a 0.3 percent increase. Moreover, the April reading was revised from a 0.2 percent decrease to a 0.1 percent rise. The data supported positive opinion of Australia’s central bank about the nation’s economy.
Globally, the trading environment was also favorable to the Australian currency. The Standard & Poorâs 500 Index advanced 0.6 percent and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained as much as 1 percent yesterday. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of stocks rose 0.5 percent today.
AUD/USD rose from 1.0282 to 1.0320 (the highest level since May 3) before trading at 1.0273 as of 22:16 GMT today. EUR/AUD fell from 1.2259 to 1.2187 and its daily minimum was at 1.2166 — the lowest price since February 17. AUD/JPY was flat at 82.05.
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