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Investing.com - The Australian dollar was steady against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, after the release of downbeat Australian trade balance data, while the New Zealand dollar moved higher as investors eyed the day's three potential market movers.
AUD/USD held steady at 0.7549, not far from the previous session's six-week highs of 0.7569.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics earlier reported that the trade surplus narrowed to A$0.555 billion in April from A$3.169 billion in March, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated surplus of A$3.107 billion.
Analysts had expected the trade surplus to narrow to A$1.950 billion in April.
A separate report showed that China's exports rose by an annualized rate of 8.7% in May, exceeding expectations for a 7.0% climb, while imports jumped 14.8%, blowing past projections for an increase of 8.5%.
China is Australia's biggest export partner.
NZD/USD edged up 0.14% to trade at 0.7205, just off a three-month peak of 0.7211 hit overnight.
Investors remained cautious ahead of three major events scheduled later in the day, including former FBI Director James Comey's testimony to a Senate committee.
Investors are fearful that the Trump administration may be further damaged by any revelations that could emerge when Comey testifies about Russia's alleged involvement in the U.S. election.
In addition, a general election was scheduled in the U.K. and the European Central Bank was set to release its monetary policy decision.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.08% at 96.59, not far from Wednesday's fresh seven-month lows of 96.45.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
