Investing.com - The Australian dollar was almost unchanged against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, as concerns over the worsening sovereign debt crisis in Spain continued to weigh on risk sentiment.
AUD/USD hit 1.0383 during late Asian trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0388, easing 0.03%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0336, the low of March 30 and resistance at 1.0464, the high of April 3.
A Spanish short-term government bond auction briefly supported sentiment on Tuesday as the country raised the full targeted amount of EUR3 billion, although borrowing costs almost doubled.
Markets remained jittery however as concerns that Spain’s government will not be able to meet deficit reduction targets in the face of a looming recession persisted.
Sentiment also weakened after a flurry of mixed U.S. data on Tuesday failed to paint a reassuring picture of the country’s economic recovery.
Official data showed that industrial production in the U.S. was unexpectedly flat for the second consecutive month in March, confounding expectations for a 0.3% increase, while a separate report showed that the number of building permits issued in March unexpectedly rose to 0.747 million, the highest level since September 2008.
The report also showed that U.S. housing starts fell unexpectedly in March to hit 0.654 million, the lowest level since October, from a revised 0.694 million units in February.
In Australia, the Melbourne Institute said earlier that its leading index rose 0.2% in February after a 0.6% the previous month.
Elsewhere, the Aussie was fractionally higher against the euro with EUR/AUD inching down 0.10%, to hit 1.2621.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce government data on crude oil stockpiles.
AUD/USD hit 1.0383 during late Asian trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0388, easing 0.03%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0336, the low of March 30 and resistance at 1.0464, the high of April 3.
A Spanish short-term government bond auction briefly supported sentiment on Tuesday as the country raised the full targeted amount of EUR3 billion, although borrowing costs almost doubled.
Markets remained jittery however as concerns that Spain’s government will not be able to meet deficit reduction targets in the face of a looming recession persisted.
Sentiment also weakened after a flurry of mixed U.S. data on Tuesday failed to paint a reassuring picture of the country’s economic recovery.
Official data showed that industrial production in the U.S. was unexpectedly flat for the second consecutive month in March, confounding expectations for a 0.3% increase, while a separate report showed that the number of building permits issued in March unexpectedly rose to 0.747 million, the highest level since September 2008.
The report also showed that U.S. housing starts fell unexpectedly in March to hit 0.654 million, the lowest level since October, from a revised 0.694 million units in February.
In Australia, the Melbourne Institute said earlier that its leading index rose 0.2% in February after a 0.6% the previous month.
Elsewhere, the Aussie was fractionally higher against the euro with EUR/AUD inching down 0.10%, to hit 1.2621.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce government data on crude oil stockpiles.