Investing.com - The Australian dollar rebounded after the central bank kept its cash rate steady at a record low 2.5% as expected on Tuesday.
"In the Board's judgement, monetary policy is appropriately configured to foster sustainable growth in demand and inflation outcomes consistent with the target. On present indications, the most prudent course is likely to be a period of stability in interest rates," Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement.
Australian with retail sales in April rose 0.2%, matching expectations, while first quarter data for the current account showed a deficit of A$5.7 billion, narrower than the A$7.0 billion deficit expected.
Chinese non-manufacturing PMI for May rose to 55.5, the highest since November, from 54.8. The HSBC Manufacturing PMI May final came in at 49.4, lower than the 49.7 in the "flash" reading, but still above the 48.1 final in April.
AUD/USD traded at 0.9258, up 0.10%, after the RBA statement, rebounding off earlier declines.
Total average monthly cash earnings per regular employee in Japan stood at a preliminary Y274,761 in April, up 0.9% from a year earlier, marking the second straight year-on-year rise.
USD/JPY traded at 102.36, down 0.04%, after the data.
India's Central Bank also holds its review meeting for the first time since the general election brought the opposition BJP to power.
Overnight, the dollar traded higher against most major currencies as investors applauded an upbeat U.S. manufacturing gauge despite two revisions to the index that confused markets, while expectations for the European Central Bank to loosen policy also firmed the greenback.
In the U.S., the Institute of Supply Management reported that its manufacturing purchasing managers' index for May ticked down to 53.2 from 54.9 a month earlier before correcting it two times, once to 56.0 and a second time to 55.4.
While the corrections confused markets, the dollar remained higher, as any figure over 50 signifies expansion.
Elsewhere, the single currency came under pressure on expectations that the European Central Bank will take steps to tackle low inflation rates that are threatening an already fragile recovery in the single currency bloc, including cuts to all interest rates.
The European Central Bank will decide on interest rates and monetary policy on Thursday.
On Tuesday, the U.S. is to produce data on factory orders.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.05% at 80.64.