Investing.com - The Aussie gained smartly in Asia on Friday as prices data in China showed a surprise jump, signalling potential demand pressures for key commodities in closely-watched figures covering consumers and producers.
AUD/USD rose 0.38% to 0.7598, with China a top trade destination for Australian commodities. USD/JPY changed hands at 103.88, up 0.16%.
China reported CPI for September with a gain of 0.7% month-on-month, well above the 0.3% pace seen and led by food prices, and a 1.9% increase year-on-year, faster than the 1.6% rise expected. As well PPI data rose 0.1% year-on-year, compared to a decline of 0.3% expected for the first positive growth since February 2012.
"The domestic industrial supply and demand situation is trending better, with improving signs in inventories and sales by key industries," due to government policies to stabilize growth, reduce excess capacities and inventories, Yu Qiumei, the bureau's senior statistician wrote, said in a statement.
Improving international commodity prices also supported the price gains in domestic industrial products, Yu said.
Earlier in Japan, the PPI for September fell 3.2% as expected year-on-year and came in flat, compared to a 0.1% month-on-month gain seen.
Australia's central bank released a financial stability review that highlighted some regional risks in apartment construction.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.06% to 97.59.
Overnight, the dollar erased gains against the other major currencies on Thursday, after the release of positive U.S. jobless claims data, as investors locked in gains from the greenback’s recent rally to a seven-month peak.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending October 8 held steady at 246,000. Analysts expected jobless claims to rise by 8,000 to 254,000 last week.
The greenback had climbed broadly after the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September policy meeting released on Wednesday showed several voting members of the policy committee judged a rate hike would be warranted "relatively soon" if the U.S. economy continued to strengthen. Markets are currently pricing in around a 69.8% chance of a rate hike at December's meeting, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
Safe-haven demand strengthened after data earlier showed that China’s trade surplus narrowed to $41.99 billion in September from $52.05 billion the previous month.
Analysts had expected the trade surplus to widen to $53.00 billion last month.
The weak data fueled fresh concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.
The pound had found some support after British Prime Minister Theresa May was pushed into allowing Tory MPs on Tuesday to vote for a Labour motion calling for greater scrutiny of her Brexit proposals.