The Australian dollar bounced to a one-week high on Thursday helped by upbeat data on home building and trade, while its US counterpart was knocked by reports President Donald Trump had decided on a new head of the country's central bank. The Aussie blipped up 0.5 percent to $0.7716 and moved further away from recent lows at $0.7625. The New Zealand dollar also extended gains made in the wake of a strong jobs report to reach $0.6933.
Aiding the Aussie were figures showing approvals to build new homes proved surprisingly resilient in September while the country's trade surplus doubled to A$1.75 billion in a positive for economic growth. Analysts at NAB estimated net exports could have added as much as half a percentage point to gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter.
"Our model of the economy calls for a 0.9 percent rise in GDP for Q3, taking annual growth up from 1.8 percent to 3.2 percent," they wrote in a note to clients. New Zealand government bonds pulled up in line with US Treasuries, to nudge yields down a basis point.
Australian government bond futures were better bid, with the three-year bond contract up 3 ticks at 98.000. The 10-year contract added 5 ticks to 97.3300. Not helping the US dollar were numerous reports Trump had chosen current Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell as the next chair in a nod to continuity. Powell was seen as less hawkish than the other main contender, John Taylor, and investors responded by nudging the currency and US Treasury yields lower. There was also much uncertainty about a long-awaited package of US tax cut proposals which were due to be announced later on Thursday.