ECB leaves policy unchanged

Exports from China declined 2.80% on a year over year basis in August, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday. It was slightly better than the forecast of 4.00% decline in exports and better than the 4.40% decline seen in July. Imports on the other hand grew at a pace of 1.50%, after falling 12.50% in July. Imports increased for the first time since 2014 and beat estimates forecasting a 5.40% decline. China's trade surplus as a result came in at 52.05 billion in August, compared to 52.31 billion in July and slightly lower than the forecasts of 58.8 billion.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, Australia's merchandize trade deficit was seen at 2.41 billion in July, according to official data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The trade deficit beat forecasts for a shortfall of 2.70 billion following the 3.195 billion trade deficit in June. July's trade deficit was a 26% improvement compared to the previous month. Exports increased 3.0% to rise to a seasonally adjusted 26.425 billion. Non-monetary gold saw a 62% increase while rural goods increased by 1%. Consumption goods were lower by 6.0% while intermediate and other merchandize rose 3.0%. The trade deficit data follows the quarterly GDP report released the day before which showed a 0.50% increase in economy.