Aussie Trading Lower Despite Upbeat Chinese Economic Data

Aussie Trading Lower Despite Upbeat Chinese Economic Data

For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, AUD weakened 0.18% against the USD to close at 1.0545, amid unimpressive Australian employment data.

LME Copper prices rose 0.6% or $12.5/MT to $2003.3/MT. Aluminium prices rose 0.2% or $17.3/MT to $7927.5/MT.

In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 1.0517, with the AUD trading 0.27% lower from yesterday’s close, despite positive economic data from China, Australia’s biggest trading partner.

Chinese gross domestic product rose 7.9% annually in the Q4 FY2012, higher than market consensus of a 7.8% expansion and compared to a 7.4% growth reported in the Q3 FY2012. Meanwhile, nation’s industrial production rose more-than-expected by 10.3% (YoY) in December, compared to a 10.1% rise recorded in November. Moreover, retail sales advanced 15.2% annually in December, higher than market estimates and compared to a 14.9% increase posted in the previous month.

Separately, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that the house price index in China eased 0.04% in December, compared to a 0.7% decline recorded in the previous month. Separately, the MNI flash business sentiment indicator rose to a reading of 54.9 in January, compared to a reading of 52.2 reported in last month.