Australian Dollar Tanks After Disappointing Retail Sales

The Australian dollar slumped against all major currencies today, falling to the lowest level since June 2017 against the US dollar, after nation’s retail sales unexpectedly halted growth in March. Rising imports in China, Australia’s biggest trading partner, did little to support the currency.
Australian retail sales showed no growth in March from the previous month following the 0.6% increase in February. That is compared to the predicted growth by 0.2%.
Meanwhile, China’s trade balance turned from a deficit of $5.0 billion in March to a surplus of $28.8 billion in April. It was a bit bigger than an excess of $27.5 billion predicted by analysts. Imports jumped 21.5% year-on-year, while exports rose by 12.9%. China’s growing import bodes well for the Australian economy, which heavily relies on selling its goods to the Asian nation.
AUD/USD dropped from 0.7513 to 0.7451 as of 12:06 GMT today. EUR/AUD rallied from 1.5856 to 1.5922. AUD/JPY slid from 81.96 to 81.23.

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