2018.06.0803:27:00UTC+00Australian Dollar Drops After Weak China Trade Data

The Australian dollar declined against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Friday, as Chinese trade surplus fell more than forecast in May.

Data from the General Administration of Customs showed that China's trade surplus totaled $24.92 billion in May versus the expected surplus of $33.8 billion.

This follows a surplus of $28.38 billion in April.

In dollar terms, exports climbed 12.6 percent year-over-year in May, faster than the expected rise of 11.1 percent.

Imports surged 26.0 percent in May from a year ago, well above economists' forecast for a growth of 18.2 percent.

China is Australia's largest trading partner.

The aussie was also weighed by rising risk aversion, as Asian markets fell ahead of the G-7 summit starting in Canada later today.

The aussie fell to a 4-day low of 0.7582 against the greenback, from a high of 0.7627 hit at 9:00 pm ET. The aussie is poised to challenge support around the 0.74 level.

Having advanced to 83.78 against the yen at 9:10 pm ET, the aussie reversed direction and slipped to a 4-day low of 83.07. Next key support for the aussie is likely seen around the 82.00 level.

Survey figures from the Cabinet Office showed that a measure of peoples' assessment of the Japanese economy decreased unexpectedly in May to the weakest level in more than one-and-a-half years.

The current index of Economy Watchers' survey dropped to 47.1 in May from 49.0 in April.

Pulling away from a high of 1.5467 hit at 5:15 pm ET, the aussie reversed direction and declined to more than a 2-week low of 1.5540 against the euro. The aussie is seen finding support around the 1.56 region.

The aussie weakened to a 2-day low of 0.9858 against the loonie and a 1-week low of 1.0804 against the kiwi, reversing from its early highs of 0.9896 and 1.0855, respectively. The next likely support for the aussie is seen around 0.97 against the loonie and 1.07 against the kiwi.

Looking ahead, U.S. wholesale inventories for April, Canada housing starts and jobs data for May are due in the New York session.