Aussie Struggles to Keep Gains Despite Better-Than-Expected GDP

The Australian dollar was volatile today, struggling to preserve its gains. While it was trading above the opening level against most major rivals, the Aussie struggled to move higher despite a very supportive factor in the form of the faster-than-expected economic growth.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that gross domestic product rose 0.9% in the June quarter from the previous three months. Year-on-year, GDP climbed 3.4%. That was a faster growth than analysts had predicted — 0.7% for the quarterly growth and 2.8% for the annual growth.
Other macroeconomic reports were not so good. The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Services Index dropped from 53.6 in July to 52.2 in August, showing slowing growth of the sector. Data from China, Australia’s biggest trading partner, was not encouraging either.
AUD/USD traded at 0.7172 as of 12:17 GMT today after opening at 0.7170 and rising to the daily high of 0.7218. EUR/AUD edged up from 1.6127 to 1.6138, bouncing from the daily minimum of 1.6069. AUD/JPY was up from 79.91 to 80.00, but retreated from the session maximum of 80.57.

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