The Australian dollar weakened against the other major currencies in the late Asian session on Tuesday, after Australia's central bank maintained its interest rate at a record low, as widely expected.
The board of the Reserve Bank of Australia, governed by Philip Lowe, kept the cash rate unchanged at 1.50 percent. The bank had reduced the rate by 25-basis points each in August and May 2016.
"Taking account of the available information, the Board judged that holding the stance of monetary policy unchanged at this meeting would be consistent with sustainable growth in the economy and achieving the inflation target over time," the bank said in a statement.
The currency had traded higher on Australia's trade balance ahead of the RBA decision.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that Australia had a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade surplus of A$3.574 billion in February. That far surpassed forecasts for a surplus of A$1.70 billion and was up from the upwardly revised A$1.503 billion surplus in January.
Exports advanced 1.0 percent on month to A$32.405 billion. Imports slipped 5.0 percent to A$28.832 billion.
Meanwhile, Asian stock markets are mostly lower, tracking the negative lead overnight from Wall Street following downbeat auto sales and manufacturing data.
Investors are cautious ahead of the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping as well as the release of U.S. employment figures later this week.
In other economic news, data from the ANZ bank and Roy Morgan Research showed that Australia's consumer sentiment weakened during the week ended April 2. The consumer confidence index dropped by 2.4 percent to 111.1 from 113.8 in the preceding week. Moreover, this was the lowest score since October 2015.
Monday, the Australian dollar had fallen 0.32 percent against the U.S. dollar, 0.74 percent against the yen, 0.22 percent against the euro, 0.19 percent against the loonie, and 0.37 percent against the kiwi.
In the Asian trading, the Australian dollar fell to more than a 4-month low of 83.64 against the yen, nearly a 3-week low of 0.7577 against the U.S. dollar and a 6-day low of 1.4078 against the euro, from early high of 84.40, 0.7615 and 1.4009, respectively. The aussie may test support near 82.00 against the yen, 0.74 against the greenback and 1.44 against the euro.
Against the Canadian dollar, the aussie dropped to 1.0139 from an early high of 1.0189. The aussie is likely to find support near the 0.99 region.
The aussie edged down to 1.0843 against the NZ dollar, from an early high of 1.0878. This may be compared to an early 1-week low of 1.0829. If the aussie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around the 1.06 area.
Looking ahead, U.K. Markit/CIPS construction PMI for March and Eurozone retail sales data for February are due to be released later in the day.
At 5:15 am ET, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe is expected to speak at the Reserve Bank Board Dinner, in Melbourne.
In the New York session, U.S. and Canada trade balance for February, U.S. factory orders and durable goods order for Febraury are slated for release.
At 10:30 am ET, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is expected to speak at the European Central Bank's launching of the new €50 banknote, in Frankfurt.
At 4:30 pm ET, Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo will deliver a speech titled "Departing Thoughts" at Princeton University.
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Business News
May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.