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Forex - AUD/USD climbs to 4-month high, focus on central banks

Published 07/31/2012, 02:59 AM
AUD/USD
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AUD/NZD
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Investing.com - The Australian dollar climbed to a four-month high against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, as speculation that major central banks may soon implement fresh easing measures to stimulate growth boosted demand for riskier assets.

AUD/USD hit 1.0538 during late Asian trade, the pair’s highest since March 27; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0517, adding 0.13%.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.0405, the low of April 30 and resistance at 1.0636, the high of March 19.

Risk sentiment found support ahead of the European Central Bank's policy meeting on Thursday, after ECB President Mario Draghi pledged last week to do whatever was necessary to prevent the euro zone from collapsing.

Draghi's remarks fueled expectations that the ECB may soon reactivate its bond-buying program to help cut Spanish and Italian borrowing costs.

The Aussie’s gains were limited however, as investors remained cautious amid concerns that the bank could disappoint market expectations.

Market participants were also looking ahead to the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s policy setting meeting on Wednesday, amid speculation over whether the bank will hint at further easing measures.

In Australia, official data showed that building approvals fell far less-than-expected in June, ticking down 2.5% after a 27% jump the previous month.

Analysts had expected building approvals to drop 14.6% in June.

Separately, the Reserve Bank of Australia said that private sector credit rose 0.3% in June, disappointing expectations for a 0.4% rise and following a 0.5% increase the previous month.

The Aussie was steady against the New Zealand dollar with AUD/NZD inching up 0.02%, to hit 1.2986.

Also Tuesday, the National Bank of New Zealand said earlier that its index of business confidence rose to 15.1 in July, from a reading of 12.6 the previous month.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release industry data on house price inflation, a report on consumer confidence and data on manufacturing activity in the Chicago area.


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