Investing.com - Investing.com - The Aussie gained slightly in Asia on Friday as China GDP meet expectations for the first quarter and retail sales bumped higher.
AUD/USD traded at 0.7697, up 0.05% with the country's fortunes closely linked to trade with China, while USD/JPY was quoted at 109.63, up 0.17%.
China said first quarter GDP rose 6.7% year-on-year, matching expectations, while industrial production for March rose 6.9%, better than the 5.9% gain seen year-on-year and retail sales increased 10.5%, beating the 10.4% expected year-on-year.
Earlier, the Reserve Bank of Australia released its Financial Stability Review, which said risks in the household sector have eased in the past six months owing to regulatory measures in the housing market putting recent borrowers on a sounder footing.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.01% to 94.95.
Overnight, the dollar moved back up toward two-and-a-half week highs against the other major currencies on Thursday, as investors shrugged off mixed U.S. economic reports.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending April 9 decreased by 13,000 to 253,000 from the previous week's total of 266,000 which was revised down from 267,000. Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 3,000 to 270,000 last week.
A separate report showed that the U.S. consumer price index rose 0.1% in March, disappointing expectations for a 0.2% gain, after a 0.2% slip the previous month. Year-on-year, consumer prices rose 0.9% last month, confounding expectations for an increase of 1.0%. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.1% in March, compared to expectations for a 0.2% increase and after a 0.3% gain the previous month.
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Source → Forex - Aussie gains after China Q1 GDP matches expected 6.7% gain
