AUD/USD higher after more Australian data points

Investing.com - The Australian dollar traded higher against its U.S. rival during Tuesday’s Asian session following the release of two more economic data points from down under. 

In Asian trading Tuesday, AUD/USD rose 0.26% to 0.9002. he pair is likely to find support at 0.8846, the low from August 5 and resistance at 0.8977, Thursday’s high. 

Earlier Tuesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that Australian retail sales rose 0.1% last month after remaining flat in July. Analysts expected an August increase of 0.4%. 

In a separate report, the Bureau of Statistics said that Australia’s current account balance fell to a deficit of AUD9.4 billion at the end of the second quarter from a deficit of AUD8.7 billion. The first-quarter figure was revised down from AUD8.5 billion. Analysts expected a second-quarter deficit of AUD8.7 billion. 

Monday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that Australian building approvals rose 10.8% last week following a 6.3% drop in the previous week. The prior week’s figure was revised up from a drop of 6.9%. Analysts expected an increase of 4%. 

In another report, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that Australian gross operating profits fell 0.8% in the second quarter after rising 3.5% in the first quarter. Analysts expected a second-quarter decline of 0.7%. 

The Reserve Bank of Australia also meets today with most traders expecting the central bank to leave rates steady after RBA lowered its benchmark interest rate to a record low 2.5% last month. 

Elsewhere, AUD/JPY climbed 0.53% to 89.63 while AUD/NZD inched up 0.03% to 1.1505.