Australian Dollar Weakens Slightly After Overnight Rise

 
   By David Rogers 
 

        SYDNEY--The Australian dollar drifted down in Asia after surging on broad-based U.S. dollar weakness. Weak domestic retail trade data took some shine off the unit, but most of the pullback was due to a slight moderation in the fall in the U.S. dollar.
        At 0600 GMT, the Australian dollar was trading around US$0.9340 compared with US$0.9289 late Tuesday.
        The Aussie hit a two-day high of US$0.9363 overnight as the U.S. dollar fell against the major currencies. It retreated to US$0.9333 after the Australian Bureau of Statistics said retail trade rose 0.1% in March, less than a 0.4% rise expected by economists. March quarter retail sales rose 1.2% versus an expected 1.4% rise.
        Invast Financial Services chief market analyst Peter Esho said AUD/EUR buying could underpin AUD/USD in the near term. He expects the EUR/USD to draw selling near 1.4000 in anticipation of action by the European Central Bank to curb its strength.
        "The U.S. dollar weakening has surprised many," Mr. Esho said. "The Aussie has found strong support and it may grind higher as we still have a decent interest rate differential."
        The Australian dollar was playing second fiddle to major currencies before key events including domestic jobs employment data on Thursday, the Reserve Bank of Australia's Statement on Monetary Policy on Friday, and the federal budget next Tuesday.
        U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen was due to testify before the Joint Economic Committee later Thursday.
        Write to David Rogers at david.rogers@wsj.com
        (END) Dow Jones Newswires

        May 07, 2014 02:29 ET (06:29 GMT)