Aussie higher after trade, sales data; Kiwi down after employment data

On Wednesday the Australian dollar edged higher in Asia on better-than-expected trade data and expected retail sales, while its New Zealand counterpart dipped after weak employment numbers.

AUD/USD changed hands at 0.7205, up 0.26%, after the data, while USD/JPY was unchanged at 121.06.

In Australia, the October AIG Services Index dropped 3.3 points to 48.9. Retail sales gained 0.4% in September, matching month-on-month expectations, while the trade balance came in at a deficit of A$2.317 billion, narrower than the A$3.0 billion seen.

In China, the Ciaxin services PMI for October rose to 52.0, beating an expected 50.8.

In New Zealand, official data showed that employment dipped 0.4% in the third quarter, below the 0.4% gain seen and labor costs rose 0.4% - below the 0.5% rise expected with the unemployment rate up to 6.0% from 5.9%.

NZD/USD traded at 0.6655, down 0.15%.

Overnight, the dollar held gains against the other major currencies on Tuesday, despite negative U.S. factory orders as investors began to focus on this week's nonfarm payrolls report.

The U.S. Census Bureau said factory orders dropped 1.0% in September, worse than forecasts for a fall of 0.9%. Factory orders decreased 2.1% in August, whose figure was revised from a previously reported decline of 1.7%.

Investors were now awaiting Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for cues on the likelihood of a December rate increase.