Investing.com - The Australian dollar fell to a nine-day low against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, as weaker-than-expected inflation data from Australia sparked new speculation of a rate cut by the country’s central bank, while euro zone debt concerns persisted.
AUD/USD hit 1.0248 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since April 11; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0278, shedding 0.41%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0225, the low of April 11 and a three-month low and resistance at 1.0335, the high of April 6.
Official data showed earlier that consumer price inflation in Australia rose 0.1% in the first quarter, below expectations for a 0.7% rise and following a flat reading the previous quarter.
Trimmed mean CPI, which excludes the most volatile 30% of items, rose 0.3% after a 0.6% rise in the fourth quarter. Analysts had expected trimmed mean CPI to rise 0.6% in the first quarter.
The Reserve bank of Australia indicated earlier this month that it would consider cutting the 4.25% benchmark interest rate at its May 1 policy meeting, provided the inflation numbers were tame.
Meanwhile, sentiment remained under pressure after data on Monday showed that the euro zone's manufacturing output slumped to its lowest level since June 2009 this month, while its services sector fell to a five month low.
Markets were also jittery after a Sunday vote in France opened up the presidential race and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday tendered his government's resignation in a crisis over budget cuts, creating a political vacuum in one of the region’s most stable nations.
Elsewhere, the Aussie was lower against the euro with EUR/AUD rising 0.54%, to hit 1.2818.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on house price inflation, as well as a Conference Board report on consumer confidence and government data on new home sales.
AUD/USD hit 1.0248 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since April 11; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0278, shedding 0.41%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0225, the low of April 11 and a three-month low and resistance at 1.0335, the high of April 6.
Official data showed earlier that consumer price inflation in Australia rose 0.1% in the first quarter, below expectations for a 0.7% rise and following a flat reading the previous quarter.
Trimmed mean CPI, which excludes the most volatile 30% of items, rose 0.3% after a 0.6% rise in the fourth quarter. Analysts had expected trimmed mean CPI to rise 0.6% in the first quarter.
The Reserve bank of Australia indicated earlier this month that it would consider cutting the 4.25% benchmark interest rate at its May 1 policy meeting, provided the inflation numbers were tame.
Meanwhile, sentiment remained under pressure after data on Monday showed that the euro zone's manufacturing output slumped to its lowest level since June 2009 this month, while its services sector fell to a five month low.
Markets were also jittery after a Sunday vote in France opened up the presidential race and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday tendered his government's resignation in a crisis over budget cuts, creating a political vacuum in one of the region’s most stable nations.
Elsewhere, the Aussie was lower against the euro with EUR/AUD rising 0.54%, to hit 1.2818.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on house price inflation, as well as a Conference Board report on consumer confidence and government data on new home sales.