China’s economy expanded 1.3% QoQ in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, compared to a 1.2% growth in Q4 of 2025, the official data published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Thursday. The figure came in line with the market consensus.
On an annual basis, the Chinese Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate rose 5.0% in Q1 after advancing 4.5% in the previous quarter, stronger than the market expectation of 4.8% print.
China’s annual March Retail Sales increased by 1.7% versus 2.3% expected and 2.8% prior, while Industrial Production came in at 5.7% versus 5.5% estimate and February’s reading of 6.3%.
Meanwhile, the Fixed Asset Investment increased 1.7% year-to-date (YTD) in March vs. a rise of 1.9% expected and an increase of 1.8% in the previous reading.
AUD/USD reaction to China’s data dump
The Australian Dollar (AUD) edges slightly higher in an immediate reaction to the China’s GDP and activity data. At the time of press, the AUD/USD pair is down 0.06% on the day at 0.7165.
Australian Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of Australian Dollar (AUD) against listed major currencies today. Australian Dollar was the strongest against the New Zealand Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.03% | -0.06% | -0.14% | -0.10% | -0.10% | 0.06% | -0.08% | |
| EUR | 0.03% | -0.03% | -0.09% | -0.06% | -0.07% | 0.06% | -0.04% | |
| GBP | 0.06% | 0.03% | -0.04% | -0.04% | -0.03% | 0.10% | -0.01% | |
| JPY | 0.14% | 0.09% | 0.04% | 0.03% | 0.05% | 0.13% | 0.06% | |
| CAD | 0.10% | 0.06% | 0.04% | -0.03% | 0.01% | 0.14% | 0.03% | |
| AUD | 0.10% | 0.07% | 0.03% | -0.05% | -0.01% | 0.12% | 0.04% | |
| NZD | -0.06% | -0.06% | -0.10% | -0.13% | -0.14% | -0.12% | -0.11% | |
| CHF | 0.08% | 0.04% | 0.01% | -0.06% | -0.03% | -0.04% | 0.11% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Australian Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent AUD (base)/USD (quote).
