The Australian dollar lost ground in early Asian trading on Thursday after the government report showed that Australia's capital expenditure unexpectedly declined in the third quarter. The aussie plunged to a 6-day low against the currencies of Europe and Japan.
New capital spending by private businesses decreased a seasonally adjusted 3.9% quarter-on-quarter to A$26.55 billion in the third quarter, after rising a revised 2.1% in the second quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported today. Economists had expected capital expenditure to rise 1%.
On a yearly basis, total new capital expenditure declined a seasonally adjusted 1.3%. Expenditure on equipment, plant & machinery slumped 8.1%, while spending on buildings & structures grew 6.5%.
After opening on a bright note on the back of a positive close on Wall Street overnight, the Australian stock market drifted down into the red today, with participants cashing in on recent rallies and taking some profits in stocks cutting across various sectors.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which fell to 4,708.8 from an early high of 4,751.3, is currently trading at 4,725, up 2.8 points or 0.1% over its previous close. The broader All Ordinaries index is up 2 points at 4,743. Earlier, after advancing to 4,768.1, it had tumbled to 4,729.6.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Singapore, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan are trading higher, while Japan is down with a modest loss.
The Australian dollar reached a 6-day low of 80.73 against the Japanese yen by 10:00 pm ET and moving a few pips down may pull down the pair to its lowest level in more than 3-weeks. The aussie-yen pair that closed Wednesday's North American trading at 81.44 is presently quoted at 80.8.
The Bank of Japan's board members said that the global financial markets remain at risk amidst uncertain conditions, minutes from the October 30 monetary policy meeting revealed today.
The board added that the recovery for the U.S. economy is likely to lag behind the rest of the world, reiterating the need to take appropriate and flexible steps in a timely fashion.
At the meeting, the board unanimously decided to maintain the uncollateralized overnight call rate at 0.1 percent, as expected. Also, the board decided to stop outright purchases of commercial papers and corporate bonds at the end of 2009 as the central bank's assessment showed a marked improvement in conditions.
The Australian dollar that ended Wednesday's North American session at 0.9323 against the greenback drifted lower to 0.9246 by 9:30 pm ET. In near-term, the aussie-buck pair may find support around the 0.922 level.
Reaction in markets appears positive yesterday after some upbeat economic data, including a report from the Labor Department showing that weekly jobless claims fell below the 500,000 level for the first time since early January.
The report showed that jobless claims in the week ended November 21 fell to 466,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 501,000. Economists had been expecting jobless claims to edge down to 500,000 from the 505,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Additionally, a report from the Commerce Department showed that new home sales rose 6.2 percent to an annual rate of 430,000 in October from the revised September rate of 405,000. Economists had expected sales to edge up to 404,000 from the 402,000 originally reported for the previous month.
While the Commerce Department released a separate report showing that durable goods orders unexpectedly decreased in October, the report also showed a notable upward revision to pace of order growth in September.
Against the European currency, the Australian dollar dropped to a 6-day low of 1.6345 by 9:30 pm ET and this may be compared to Wednesday's New York session closing value of 1.6242. The euro-aussie pair is presently worth 1.633 with 1.636 seen as the next target level.
The Australian dollar, however, advanced to a 5-1/2 month high of 1.2779 against the New Zealand dollar by 8:00 pm ET mainly due to across the board weakening of the latter. The aussie-kiwi pair, which was worth 1.2736 at Wednesday's close, is currently quoted at 1.274.
Business confidence in New Zealand declined in November, according to survey results released today by National Bank of NZ. The bank's index of firms showed a net 43 percent expecting better times ahead, a decline of 5 percentage points from October.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.