Forex - AUD/USD drops after Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) comments

The U.S. dollar traded higher against most of its major rivals during Wednesday’s Asian following a downbeat day for U.S. equities that may have some traders hunting for less risky assets. 

In Asian trading Wednesday, EUR/USD fell 0.09% to 1.2969 after Portugal’s Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar resigned in wake of data that indicated that the country’s budget deficit widened in the first quarter. 

Later today, the euro zone will release official data on retail sales, while Spain and Italy are to produce data on service sector activity. 

GBP/USD fell 0.06% to 1.5147 after U.K.-based Markit's final euro zone purchasing managers' index hit a 16-month high of 48.8 in June, beating market calls for a 48.7 reading, while Spanish and French indices beat expectations as well, though Germany missed consensus forecast. 


USD/JPY inched up 0.06% to 100.70. Earlier in the session, USD/JPY traded at 100.86, a five week high. The greenback’s slight show of strength helped modestly lift Japanese stocks. 

USD/CHF rose 0.13% to 0.9520 while USD/CAD inched up 0.07% to 1.0554 after the American Petroleum Institute said U.S. oil inventories fell by 9 million barrels last week, well above the decline of 3 million barrels analysts expected. 

AUD/USD inched down 0.07% to 0.9144 a day after the Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates unchanged at 2.75%. 

NZD/USD nudged down 0.01% to 0.7752 while the U.S. Dollar Index was slightly higher at 83.82.