The Australian Dollar soared against the US Dollar after the release of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the trade balance showed a surplus of some AUD 3,511 million in December, far more than analysts’ prediction of AUD 2,200 million. The trade balance for the 4th quarter improved to AUD 4.8 billion from a deficit of AUD 3.8 billion in the 3rd quarter. That news helped to lift the AUD/USD.

As reported at 10:28 am (GMT) in London, the AUD/USD was trading at $0.7673, a gain of 1.20% and a high for the day; the session low for the pair was set at $0.7578. The EUR/AUD was down 0.7795% to trade at A$1.4092. The NZD/USD is up $0.7316, a gain of 0.7462.

Dollar Traders Look to NFP

The US Dollar Index fell to a 10-week trough after the Fed disappointed investors who had been hoping for an interest rate increase next month. Generally, the Federal Reserve offered an upbeat outlook for the US economy but money markets have reduced the likelihood of a March rate adjustment to about 15% from the previous 20%. Looking ahead, traders will focus on tomorrow’s release of US labor data; forecasters are predicting private sector jobs will have increased in January to 175,000 from December’s 156,000. Any disappointment in the NFP figures will likely lower the chances for a March rate hike even further. The USD/JPY was down 0.8219% to trade at 112.3460 Yen.