Investing.com - The Australian dollar rebounded from near three-year lows against its U.S. rival during Friday’s Asian session as traders appeared to be doing some bargain hunting with the Aussie.
In Asian trading Friday, AUD/USD added 0.50% to 0.9245. The pair was likely to find support at 0.9228 and resistance at 0.9313, the session high.
The Aussie traded higher against the greenback even after HSBC said Thursday it sees the Australian currency falling to 88 cents against its U.S. counterpart by June 2014. HSBC said the U.S. dollar is in the middle of a "powerful rally" and one the bank expects will continue.
HSBC is not the first bank to trim its outlook on the now downtrodden Aussie. Goldman Sachs, among others, recently pared its forecast on the Australian dollar.
The Aussie fell Thursday after data showed that China’s HSBC preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to a nine month low of 48.3 in June from 49.2 in May as new orders fell, indicating that the slowdown in manufacturing is worsening. China is Australia's biggest export partner.
In U.S. economic news out Thursday, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales rose 4.2% in May to an annual rate of 5.18 million units, the best level since November 2009. Analysts expected a reading of 5 million units.
The Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits rose 18,000 last week to 354,000. Analysts expected a smaller increase to 340,000. The less-volatile four week average rose just 2,500 to 348,250.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic rose to 12.5 from -5.2 last month. The reading is the best since April 2011. Readings above zero indicate expansion.
Elsewhere, AUD/JPY 0.32% to 89.80 while AUD/NZD inched down 0.08% to 1.1849.
In Asian trading Friday, AUD/USD added 0.50% to 0.9245. The pair was likely to find support at 0.9228 and resistance at 0.9313, the session high.
The Aussie traded higher against the greenback even after HSBC said Thursday it sees the Australian currency falling to 88 cents against its U.S. counterpart by June 2014. HSBC said the U.S. dollar is in the middle of a "powerful rally" and one the bank expects will continue.
HSBC is not the first bank to trim its outlook on the now downtrodden Aussie. Goldman Sachs, among others, recently pared its forecast on the Australian dollar.
The Aussie fell Thursday after data showed that China’s HSBC preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to a nine month low of 48.3 in June from 49.2 in May as new orders fell, indicating that the slowdown in manufacturing is worsening. China is Australia's biggest export partner.
In U.S. economic news out Thursday, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales rose 4.2% in May to an annual rate of 5.18 million units, the best level since November 2009. Analysts expected a reading of 5 million units.
The Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits rose 18,000 last week to 354,000. Analysts expected a smaller increase to 340,000. The less-volatile four week average rose just 2,500 to 348,250.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic rose to 12.5 from -5.2 last month. The reading is the best since April 2011. Readings above zero indicate expansion.
Elsewhere, AUD/JPY 0.32% to 89.80 while AUD/NZD inched down 0.08% to 1.1849.