Antipodean Currencies Fall Amid Risk Aversion
17 Agosto 2023 - 2:40AM
RTTF2
Antipodean currencies such as the Australia and the New Zealand
dollars weakened against their major currencies in the Asian
session on Thursday amid risk aversion, as investors remained
cautious after the U.S. Fed indicated it will continue to hold
interest rates higher for longer to contain inflation. The
prospects of a possible downgrade of several U.S. lenders by Fitch
Ratings and lingering concerns about China's economic slowdown also
continued to weigh on sentiment.
The minutes from the Fed's July meeting said "most of the
central bank officials continued to see significant upside risks to
inflation, which could require further tightening of monetary
policy."
Both the currencies started falling following the release of
Australia's weak job's data in July.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the
unemployment rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 3.7
percent in July. That missed forecasts for 3.6 percent and was up
from 3.5 percent in June.
The Australian economy lost 14,600 jobs last month versus
expectations for an increase of 15,000 following the gain of 32.600
in the previous month. The participation rate was 66.7 percent,
also missing forecasts for 66.8 percent, which would have been
unchanged.
In the Asian trading today, the Australian dollar fell to more
than a 3-year low of 1.7064 against the euro and a 9-day low of
93.23 against the yen, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.6930
and 93.99, respectively. If the aussie extends its downtrend, it is
likely to find support around 1.72 against the euro and 90.00
against the yen.
Against the U.S., the Canada and the New Zealand dollars, the
aussie dropped to a 9-1/2-month low of 0.6365, a 9-month low of
0.8627 and a 1-week low of 1.0781 from Wednesday's closing quotes
of 0.6423, 0.8691 and 1.0817, respectively. The aussie may test
support near 0.62 against the greenback, 0.85 against the loonie
and 1.06 against the kiwi. The NZ dollar fell to nearly a
3-1/2-year low of 1.8399 against the euro and a 9-month low of
0.5903 against the U.S. dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of
1.8318 and 0.5935, respectively. If the kiwi extends its downtrend,
it is likely to find support around 1.86 against the euro and 0.58
against the greenback.
Against the yen, the kiwi edged down to 86.47 from Wednesday's
closing value of 86.83. The kiwi is likely to find support near the
83.00 region.
Meanwhile, the safe-haven U.S. dollar also traded higher against
other major currencies as Asian shares traded lower.
The U.S. dollar rose to nearly a 1-1/2-month high of 1.0861
against the euro, a 9-month high of 145.56 against the yen and a
2-1/2-month high of 1.3553 against the Canadian dollar, from
yesterday's closing quotes of 1.0874, 146.35 and 1.3535,
respectively. If the greenback extends its uptrend, it is likely to
find resistance around 1.07 against the euro, 152.00 against the
yen and 1.37 against the loonie,
Against the pound and the Swiss franc, the greenback edged up to
1.2711 and 0.8811 from Wednesday's closing quotes of 1.2727 and
0.8800, respectively. The greenback may test resistance around 1.24
against the pound and 0.90 against the franc.
Looking ahead, Eurostat will publish euro area foreign trade
data for June at 5:00 am ET. Economists forecast the trade balance
to post a surplus of EUR 18.3 billion compared to a shortfall of
EUR 0.3 billion posted in May.
In the New York session, U.S. weekly jobless claims and U.S.
Philadelphia manufacturing index for August are slated for
release.
Grafico Cross NZD vs Yen (FX:NZDJPY)
Da Giu 2024 a Lug 2024
Grafico Cross NZD vs Yen (FX:NZDJPY)
Da Lug 2023 a Lug 2024
