The Australian dollar was unchanged late in local trade today even after taking a dent from a decline in China's trade surplus in February.
China's trade surplus fell to $US15.25 billion from $US29.15bn in January.
Economists polled earlier had expected a $16bn deficit. Though China has a large trade surplus with the outside world, it is common for the country to run deficits in the early part of the year, partly because factories close and workers return home for the Lunar New Year. China exports jumped 21.8 per cent.
"While the strong performance from exporters is reassuring, the weak performance from importers is concerning, especially given Beijing's push from an import driven economy fueled by domestic demand. However, we have to assess whether the low imports figure is due to weak demand or falling prices," said Chris Tedder, research analyst at Forex.com.