The Australian dollar held its recent gains around $0.649 on Thursday, as a weaker US dollar and an uptick in China’s services PMI outweighed a decline in domestic trade balance. The greenback remained under pressure amid soft US economic data, with traders awaiting trade and jobless claims figures later in the day. The Aussie found further support after China’s Caixin Services PMI, a key indicator from its largest trading partner, rose to 51.1 in May from 50.7 in April, signaling continued expansion. Meanwhile, Australia’s trade surplus narrowed to AUD 5.41 billion in April, below expectations and down from a revised AUD 6.89 billion in March. The decline was driven by a 2.4% fall in exports and a 1.1% rise in imports. On the geopolitical front, trade developments also drew attention as Trump called it “extremely hard” to deal with Xi, despite earlier suggestions that the two leaders could speak this week, while China eyes a major Airbus deal in a shift toward closer EU ties.