Australian Dollar Higher On Renewed Stimulus Expectations

The Australian dollar strengthened against its major counterparts in Asian deals on Thursday, while the yen dropped, as renewed optimism about more U.S. fiscal stimulus bolstered the risk sentiment.

Trump called on Congress to pass more relief for airlines and small businesses and other stimulus measures, after calling off negotiations over a larger package.

Polls put Joe Biden's national lead close to double digits, triggering hopes for more stimulus.

Data from the Ministry of Finance showed that Japan posted a current account surplus of 2,102.8 billion yen in August, down 1.5 percent on year. That exceeded expectations for a surplus of 1,983.7 billion yen following the 1,468.3 billion yen surplus in July. Exports were down 15.5 percent on year at 5.124 trillion yen, while imports sank an annual 22.0 percent to 4.711 trillion yen.

The trade surplus was 413 billion yen, up from 137.3 billion yen in the previous month.

The aussie firmed to 2-day highs of 0.7162 against the greenback, 75.92 against the yen and 1.6446 against the euro, after dropping to 0.7123, 75.52 and 1.6510, respectively in previous deals. The next possible resistance for the aussie is seen around 0.75 against the greenback, 78.00 against the yen and 1.62 against the euro.

The aussie edged up to 0.9482 against the loonie, from a low of 0.9448 hit at 9:30 pm ET. The aussie may test resistance around the 0.96 region.

The Australian currency approached more than a 3-week high of 1.0889 against the kiwi, from an early low of 1.0839, and was steady in later part of the trading session. The pair finished yesterday's trading at 1.0845.

The yen dropped to 115.71 against the franc and a session's low of 124.88 against the euro, pulling away from its early highs of 115.41 and 124.59, respectively. Next key support for the yen is found near 117.00 against the franc and 127.5 against the euro.

The Japanese currency dipped to a 2-day low of 137.23 against the pound and more than a 3-week low of 80.07 against the loonie, off its early highs of 136.78 and 79.85, respectively. The yen is poised to find support around 141.00 against the pound and 82.5 against the loonie.

After climbing to an 8-day high of 69.41 at 9:20 pm ET, the yen eased off to 69.84 against the kiwi. If the yen falls further, 72.00 is possibly seen as its next support level.

On the flip side, the yen staged a modest rebound against the greenback and was trading at 105.99. This followed a low of 106.11 set at 8:30 pm ET. The yen is seen finding resistance around the 104.00 region.

On the economic front, at 7:30 am ET, the European Central Bank releases the account of the monetary policy meeting of the Governing Council held on September 9-10.

Canada housing starts for September and U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended October 3 will be released in the New York session.