Investing.com - The Aussie dollar lost ground against its U.S. rival in Friday’s Asian session as traders backed away from select riskier currencies and continued to bet the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut interest rates again.
In Asian trading Friday, AUD/USD slipped 0.05% to 1.0447. The pair was likely to find support at 1.0493, the low of January 21 and resistance at 1.0558, the high of January 18. The Aussie dollar is now hovering near three-week lows against the U.S. dollar.
AUD/USD’s lethargic ways could be a sign that traders are betting the Reserve Bank of Australia is poised to lower interest rates again following its February 5 meeting. The central bank lowered rates by 25 basis points to 3% following its last meeting. Since November 2011, the RBA has slashed its cash rate by 1.75%.
Still, many analysts do not expect a rate cut to materialize after the February meeting, but they do see the RBA taking action on rates later in the year.
On Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund said it cut its global growth forecast to 3.5% for 2013 from a 3.6% forecast made in October. That could be seen as glum news for the Aussie dollar, which can be moved by commodities prices, but China has been delivering some solid economic data points as of late.
China’s preliminary HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers’ index improved to 51.9 in January, a two-year high, from a final reading of 51.5 in December. Morgan Stanley recently raised its 2013 price forecast for iron ore, a prime Australian export to China. China is Australia's largest trading partner.
Elsewhere, AUD/JPY rose 0.1% to 94.54. NZD/JPY climbed 0.04% to 75.69 as the kiwi backed off its highest levels against the yen since late 2008. EUR/AUD fell 0.05% to 1.2795.
In Asian trading Friday, AUD/USD slipped 0.05% to 1.0447. The pair was likely to find support at 1.0493, the low of January 21 and resistance at 1.0558, the high of January 18. The Aussie dollar is now hovering near three-week lows against the U.S. dollar.
AUD/USD’s lethargic ways could be a sign that traders are betting the Reserve Bank of Australia is poised to lower interest rates again following its February 5 meeting. The central bank lowered rates by 25 basis points to 3% following its last meeting. Since November 2011, the RBA has slashed its cash rate by 1.75%.
Still, many analysts do not expect a rate cut to materialize after the February meeting, but they do see the RBA taking action on rates later in the year.
On Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund said it cut its global growth forecast to 3.5% for 2013 from a 3.6% forecast made in October. That could be seen as glum news for the Aussie dollar, which can be moved by commodities prices, but China has been delivering some solid economic data points as of late.
China’s preliminary HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers’ index improved to 51.9 in January, a two-year high, from a final reading of 51.5 in December. Morgan Stanley recently raised its 2013 price forecast for iron ore, a prime Australian export to China. China is Australia's largest trading partner.
Elsewhere, AUD/JPY rose 0.1% to 94.54. NZD/JPY climbed 0.04% to 75.69 as the kiwi backed off its highest levels against the yen since late 2008. EUR/AUD fell 0.05% to 1.2795.