Investing.com - The Australian dollar dropped near six-year lows against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, as downbeat retail sales data from Australia weighed, while investors eyed the release of U.S. economic reports later in the day.
AUD/USD hit 0.6992 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7004, retreating 0.49%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.6980, Wednesday's low and a six-year low and resistance at 0.7156, Tuesday's high.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday that retail sales fell 0.1% in July, compared to expectations for a 0.4% gain. Retail sales increased by 0.6% in June, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 0.7% rise.
Data also showed that Australia's trade deficit narrowed to A$2.46 billion in July from A$3.05 billion in June, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of A$2.93 billion.
Analysts had expected the trade deficit to widen to A$3.10 billion in July.
Investors were looking ahead to U.S. reports on trade and unemployment claims, due later in the day, as well as to Friday's highly-anticipated jobs report for further indications on the strength of the economy and signs of a potential rate hike by the Federal Reserve this month.
Payroll processing firm ADP reported on Thursday that U.S. non-farm private employment rose by 190,000 last month, below expectations for an increase of 201,000.
The Aussie was lower against the euro, with EUR/AUD gaining 0.47% to 1.6026.