SYDNEY: The Australian dollar continued to be strong against the other major counterparts in the Asian session on Wednesday after data showed that the services sector in China expanded yet again in October and at a faster pace.
Data from Caixin showed that the services sector in China expanded in October and at a faster pace, with a PMI score of 52.0. That’s up from 50.5 in September, and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
The composite index moved to 49.9, up from 48.0 in September.
Australia’s trade and retail sales reports also supported the currency ahead of the release of the Chinese private sector activity data.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that Australia posted a merchandise trade deficit of AUD2.317 billion in September. That was smaller than the shortfall of AUD2.900 billion expected by economists and followed the AUD2.711 billion deficit in August. It was also a decrease of AUD394 million or 15% on the deficit in August 2015.
