Investing.com – The Australian dollar slumped to a six-week low against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, falling below parity after the Federal Reserve announced fresh measures to shore up growth and after weak Chinese manufacturing data.
AUD/USD hit 0.9982 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since August 9; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9988, shedding 0.54%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9925, the low of August 9 and a five-month low and resistance at 1.0078, the day’s high.
The Australian dollar fell after the Fed announced "Operation Twist," a plan to sell USD400 billion of short-term Treasury bonds to buy the same amount of longer-term U.S. government debt, in an attempt to boost the economy by pushing down long-term interest rates.
“There are significant downside risks to the economic outlook, including strains in global financial markets,” the Federal Reserve said.
The Aussie was also hit by data showing that Chinese factory output fell for a third consecutive month in September, adding to fears over a slowdown in global growth.
The Aussie was also sharply lower against the yen, with AUD/JPY shedding 0.36% to hit 76.47.
Also Thursday, Statistics New Zealand said gross domestic product grew by 0.1% in the second quarter, after expanding by an upwardly revised 0.9% in the three months to March. Analysts had expected GDP to increase by 0.5% on the second quarter.
AUD/USD hit 0.9982 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since August 9; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9988, shedding 0.54%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9925, the low of August 9 and a five-month low and resistance at 1.0078, the day’s high.
The Australian dollar fell after the Fed announced "Operation Twist," a plan to sell USD400 billion of short-term Treasury bonds to buy the same amount of longer-term U.S. government debt, in an attempt to boost the economy by pushing down long-term interest rates.
“There are significant downside risks to the economic outlook, including strains in global financial markets,” the Federal Reserve said.
The Aussie was also hit by data showing that Chinese factory output fell for a third consecutive month in September, adding to fears over a slowdown in global growth.
The Aussie was also sharply lower against the yen, with AUD/JPY shedding 0.36% to hit 76.47.
Also Thursday, Statistics New Zealand said gross domestic product grew by 0.1% in the second quarter, after expanding by an upwardly revised 0.9% in the three months to March. Analysts had expected GDP to increase by 0.5% on the second quarter.