Australian Dollar Advances As China's Factory Activity Improves

The Australian dollar climbed against its most major counterparts in the Asian session on Thursday, as China's manufacturing sector returned to the expansion zone in June.

Survey results from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.2 from 49.6 in May.

A score above 50.0 indicates expansion in the sector. However, the reading was slightly below economists' forecast of 50.5.

Driven by the improvement in construction, the non-manufacturing PMI advanced notably to 54.7 from 47.8 in the previous month.

Market participants digested the comments from central bankers at the European Central Bank forum in Sintra, Portugal.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that there are various pathways to achieve the inflation goal while sustaining a strong labor market.

The aussie appreciated to 0.8894 against the loonie and 0.6904 against the greenback, up from its early low of 0.8845 and more than a 2-week low of 0.6854, respectively. The aussie is seen finding resistance around 0.90 against the loonie and 0.72 against the greenback.

The aussie approached a 2-week high of 1.1090 against the kiwi and an 8-day high of 1.5142 versus the euro, following its prior lows of 1.1045 and 1.5227, respectively. The aussie is likely to find resistance around 1.12 against the kiwi and 1.47 versus the euro.

The aussie reached as high as 94.29 against the yen at 10:15 pm ET, but it has since eased to 93.72. The pair had closed yesterday's deals at 93.98.

Looking ahead, German jobless rate for June and Eurozone jobless rate for May are due in the European session.

Canada GDP data for April, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended June 25 and personal income and spending data for May will be featured in the New York session.