AUD Plunges Below $0.696 as Trade Surplus Shrinks Sharply

The Australian Dollar (AUD) declined to below $0.6959 against the US Dollar (USD) on Thursday as trade data revealed a sharp decline in Australia's trade surplus.

Data from the Bureau of Statistics showed that Australia's trade surplus narrowed to $495 million in August, down from $1,351M in the previous reading and revised from $1,923M. Exports rose 3.7% month-over-month (MoM) in August, while imports climbed 5.8% MoM.

The decline in trade surplus was largely due to a significant increase in imports, which outweighed the growth in exports.