In early Asian deals on Thursday, the Australian dollar advanced against its major counterparts after a report showed that the nation posted better-than-expected trade balance for December.
Australia saw a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade surplus of A$1.709 billion in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said today.
That was well above forecasts for a surplus of A$1.200 billion following the downwardly revised surplus of A$1.343 billion in November. The original November read was for a surplus of A$1.38 billion.
But a separate report showed that the total number of building approvals in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 1.0 percent on month in December, standing at 11,443.
That missed forecasts for an increase of 2.0 percent following the upwardly revised 10.1 percent increase in November.
The aussie reached a new 3-month high of 1.0747 against the greenback and a new multi-year high of 1.0720 against the loonie. The aussie is now trading at 1.0746 against the greenback and 1.0717 against the loonie, compared to yesterday's close of 1.0707 and 1.0694, respectively. On the upside, the aussie may target 1.08 against the greenback and 1.08 against the loonie.
The aussie rose to 1.2886 against the kiwi and 1.2282 against the euro with 1.29 and 1.225, respectively seen as the next upside target levels. At yesterday's close, the aussie traded at 1.2865 against the kiwi and 1.2299 against the euro.
Against the yen, the aussie gained to 81.85 and the next upside target level for the aussie is seen at 82.00. The aussie-yen pair closed Wednesday's deals at 81.60.
In the European session, Switzerland's trade data for December, U.K. construction PMI for January and Eurozone PPI for December are due.
The U.S. weekly claims for the week ended January 28 is set for release in the New York morning session.
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Forex News
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.