Forex - Australian dollar slightly higher ahead of retail sales, trade

Investing.com - The Australian dollar traded stronger on Thursday early in Asia ahead of trade and retail sales.

AUD/USD traded at 0.7822, up 0.04%, while USD/JPY changed hands at 119.72, up 0.03%. The US dollar index was quoted at 95.97, down 0.02%.

Australia reports its trade balance for January with a A$950 million deficit seen, while retail sales for the same month are seen up 0.4%.

At 1030 (0130 GMT), Bank of Japan board member Takahide Kiuchi is due to speak to business leaders. Kiuchi is one of the four board members who voted against the Oct. 31 easing.

Overnight, the U.S. dollar rose to its highest level against the euro on Wednesday in more than 11 years, ahead of the European Central Bank's announcement on Thursday detailing the start of its €60 billion a month quantitative easing program.

The continuing decline comes on the eve of Thursday's ECB meeting where policymakers are expected to release critical details on a monetary easing program that was passed last month.

Among the topics expected to be discussed at the meeting in Cyprus include: projections for inflation and growth, the length and scope of the program, as well as projections for when interest rates could rise again in Europe.

Also on Wednesday, Greece announced the auction of 1.138 billion in six-month Treasury bills, allowing it to refinance a maturing issue. The Treasury bills were sold at a yield of 2.97%, up from 2.75% at a prior sale last month.

U.S. stocks, meanwhile, fell amid a flurry of mixed economic data.

In its monthly National Employment Report released on Wednesday, payroll services firm ADP said that the private sector added 212,000 non-farm jobs in February, just below forecasts of a 220,000 gain. For the month of January, private payrolls were revised upward to 250,000 from a previously reported total of 213,000.

Elsewhere, the U.S. Services sector recorded its highest activity level since October, as the Markit Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 57.1 from a January reading of 51.7. The final number also exceeded a monthly forecast of 54.8.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) also said on Wednesday that its services index climbed to 56.9 for February, up from a reading of 56.7 a month earlier.