Investing.com - The Australian dollar traded lower against its U.S. rival during Tuesday’s Asian session ahead of the conclusion of another monetary policy meeting by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
In Asian trading Tuesday, AUD/USD fell 0.15% to 0.9225. The pair was likely to find support at 0.9114, Friday's low and a more than two year low and resistance at 0.9338, the high of June 27.
The Aussie traded lower after Australian PMI jumped 5.8 points to 49.6 for the month of June. Readings below 50 indicate contraction. Still, the stark improvement from the May number indicates Australia’s manufacturing sector is starting to find solid ground and that could be a sign that a raft of interest rate cuts by RBA dating back to late 2011 are finally starting to have a positive impact on the world’s 12th-largest economy.
RBA held rates steady at a record low of 2.75% following its last meeting and most economists expect the weak Aussie will prevent another rate cut later today. However, most economists also expect that RBA will lower rates again at some point this year.
The Aussie is the second-worst performing developed market currency in the world this year, trailing only the Japanese yen. Twenty-five out of 28 economists surveyed by Bloomberg believe RBA will leave rates unchanged at today’s meeting.
Still, RBA is searching for ways to jolt the economy as the country’s mining boom is all but over, a fact solidified by weak data out of China, Australia’s largest export market.
On Monday, China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 50.1 in June, above expectations for 50.0, following a reading of 50.8 in May.
Separately, China’s HSBC manufacturing PMI fell to a nine-month low of 48.2 in June, down from a preliminary reading of 48.3 and further below the 50 level that separates contraction form expansion.
Elsewhere, AUD/JPY fell 0.39% to 91.72 while AUD/NZD was flat at 1.1812.
In Asian trading Tuesday, AUD/USD fell 0.15% to 0.9225. The pair was likely to find support at 0.9114, Friday's low and a more than two year low and resistance at 0.9338, the high of June 27.
The Aussie traded lower after Australian PMI jumped 5.8 points to 49.6 for the month of June. Readings below 50 indicate contraction. Still, the stark improvement from the May number indicates Australia’s manufacturing sector is starting to find solid ground and that could be a sign that a raft of interest rate cuts by RBA dating back to late 2011 are finally starting to have a positive impact on the world’s 12th-largest economy.
RBA held rates steady at a record low of 2.75% following its last meeting and most economists expect the weak Aussie will prevent another rate cut later today. However, most economists also expect that RBA will lower rates again at some point this year.
The Aussie is the second-worst performing developed market currency in the world this year, trailing only the Japanese yen. Twenty-five out of 28 economists surveyed by Bloomberg believe RBA will leave rates unchanged at today’s meeting.
Still, RBA is searching for ways to jolt the economy as the country’s mining boom is all but over, a fact solidified by weak data out of China, Australia’s largest export market.
On Monday, China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 50.1 in June, above expectations for 50.0, following a reading of 50.8 in May.
Separately, China’s HSBC manufacturing PMI fell to a nine-month low of 48.2 in June, down from a preliminary reading of 48.3 and further below the 50 level that separates contraction form expansion.
Elsewhere, AUD/JPY fell 0.39% to 91.72 while AUD/NZD was flat at 1.1812.