Investing.com - The Australian dollar traded lower against its U.S. rival during Monday’s Asian session despite some stronger-than-expected home loans data.
In Asian trading Monday, AUD/USD fell 0.33% to 0.9989, taking Aussie slightly below parity against the greenback, a scenario traders speculated about last week. The pair is likely to find support at 0.9960, Friday’s low and resistance at 1.0095, Friday’s session high.
Earlier Monday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said home loan approvals in the world’s 12th-largest economy rose 5.2% in March, easily topping the expected increase of 4%. Approvals for new homes surged 21% while approvals to buy pre-owned homes rose 4.2%.
Last week, data showed Australian employers added 50,100 new jobs last month, nearly five times the consensus estimate that called for the addition of 11,000 jobs. Australia’ unemployment rate fell to 5.5%, also beating economists’ expectations for a reading of 5.6%.
However, traders focused more intently on the Reserve Bank of Australia lowering interest rates to 2.75% from 3%, a move that hampered the Aussie’s upside.
Traders also sold the Australian dollar after various news outlets reported billionaire financier George Soros had taken a short position in the currency. Stanley Druckenmiller made bearish comments about the Aussie last week, adding to the selling pressure.
Traders will now turn their attention to Chinese data on industrial production, fixed-asset investment and retail sales due to be reported later Monday. China is Australia’s largest trading partner.
Meanwhile, AUD/JPY fell 0.14% to 101.72 while EUR/AUD rose 0.24% to 1.2994. AUD/NZD fell 0.14% to 1.2057.
In Asian trading Monday, AUD/USD fell 0.33% to 0.9989, taking Aussie slightly below parity against the greenback, a scenario traders speculated about last week. The pair is likely to find support at 0.9960, Friday’s low and resistance at 1.0095, Friday’s session high.
Earlier Monday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said home loan approvals in the world’s 12th-largest economy rose 5.2% in March, easily topping the expected increase of 4%. Approvals for new homes surged 21% while approvals to buy pre-owned homes rose 4.2%.
Last week, data showed Australian employers added 50,100 new jobs last month, nearly five times the consensus estimate that called for the addition of 11,000 jobs. Australia’ unemployment rate fell to 5.5%, also beating economists’ expectations for a reading of 5.6%.
However, traders focused more intently on the Reserve Bank of Australia lowering interest rates to 2.75% from 3%, a move that hampered the Aussie’s upside.
Traders also sold the Australian dollar after various news outlets reported billionaire financier George Soros had taken a short position in the currency. Stanley Druckenmiller made bearish comments about the Aussie last week, adding to the selling pressure.
Traders will now turn their attention to Chinese data on industrial production, fixed-asset investment and retail sales due to be reported later Monday. China is Australia’s largest trading partner.
Meanwhile, AUD/JPY fell 0.14% to 101.72 while EUR/AUD rose 0.24% to 1.2994. AUD/NZD fell 0.14% to 1.2057.