Investing.com - The Aussie held weaker on Thursday in Thursday in Asia despite a narrower than expected trade gap as markets digested the latest Fed rate review and cautiously eyed the U.S. presidential election.
AUD/USD traded at 0.7650, down 0.13%, while USD/JPY changed hands at 103.39, up 0.08%.
The September trade balance came in at a deficit of A$1.227 billion, narrower than the deficit of A$1.7 billion seen. Exports rose A$426 million owing mainly to a 12% increase in coal exports while imports fell A$244 million as a result of a 3% fall in consumption-goods imports.
As well, the Caixin services PMI reading on China for October is due with a reading of 52.5 expected.
The Federal Reserve said the case for a rate hike by the end of the year remains in place as it held rates steady as expected on on Wednesday, adding few tweaks to its statement that still short of sending a very strong signal.
The policymaking Federal Open Market Committee voted 8 to 2 to continue targeting the 0.25% to 0.50% range for the fed funds rate, where it has been since liftoff last December.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.06% to 97.45.
Earlier in Australia, the AIG services index for October rose into expansion at 50.5 from 48.9 the previous month. "Conditions remain fragile with gentle growth in sales and new orders and a healthy lift in employment countered by falls in stocks and deliveries. Conditions in the subsectors of the services industry also were mixed indicating there is plenty of room for expansion and next-to-no threat of inflation coming from the services sector in the next few months," AI Group Chief Executive Innes Willox said.
Overnight, the dollar remained broadly lower against the other majors currencies on Wednesday after the FEd decision and an uncertainty over the outcome of the U.S. presidential election continued to weigh.
U.S. payroll processing firm ADP reported on Wednesday that non-farm private employment rose 147,000 last month, below forecasts for an increase of 165,000.
The economy created 202,000 jobs in September, whose figure was upwardly revised from a previously reported increase of 154,000.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious after the FBI said last Friday that it would review more emails related to Hillary Clinton's private email use while she was secretary of state.
The news sparked fresh uncertainty over Mrs. Clinton’s election prospects ahead of the November 8 vote, amid fears over the implications of a victory for Republican candidate Donald Trump.