Investing.com - The Australian dollar was higher against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, easing off a six-month low but gains were limited as ongoing concerns over Spain’s ailing banking sector continued to dampen risk sentiment.
AUD/USD hit 0.9731 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9726, edging up 0.23%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9663, the low of November 23 and resistance at 0.9798, the high of May 25.
Sentiment remained under pressure as growing expectations for a Spanish bailout added to concerns over the euro zone’s debt crisis, after Spanish 10-year bonds climbed to 6.7% earlier, nearing the critical 7% threshold.
Italian borrowing costs also rose sharply after a 5 and 10-year bond auctions on Wednesday met with lackluster investor demand, indicating that concerns over Spain and uncertainty over the outcome of elections in Greece next month are having a negative impact on Italy.
Meanwhile, Greece worries reemerged after an opinion poll showed that anti-bailout party Syriza took the lead in the June 17 election race.
In Australia, official data showed earlier that private capital expenditure rose 6.1% in the first quarter, beating expectations for a 4.1% increase and following a 0.7% fall the previous quarter.
The report came after official data showed that building approvals in Australia fell unexpectedly in April, tumbling 8.5% after a 6% rise the previous month. Analysts had expected building approvals to rise 0.3% in April.
Elsewhere, the Aussie was fractionally lower against the New Zealand dollar with AUD/NZD inching down 0.09%, to hit 1.2870.
Also Thursday, the National Bank of New Zealand said that its index of business confidence fell to 27.1 in May from a reading of 35.8 the previous month.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release reports on non-farm employment change and unemployment claims, as well as preliminary gross domestic product data.
AUD/USD hit 0.9731 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9726, edging up 0.23%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9663, the low of November 23 and resistance at 0.9798, the high of May 25.
Sentiment remained under pressure as growing expectations for a Spanish bailout added to concerns over the euro zone’s debt crisis, after Spanish 10-year bonds climbed to 6.7% earlier, nearing the critical 7% threshold.
Italian borrowing costs also rose sharply after a 5 and 10-year bond auctions on Wednesday met with lackluster investor demand, indicating that concerns over Spain and uncertainty over the outcome of elections in Greece next month are having a negative impact on Italy.
Meanwhile, Greece worries reemerged after an opinion poll showed that anti-bailout party Syriza took the lead in the June 17 election race.
In Australia, official data showed earlier that private capital expenditure rose 6.1% in the first quarter, beating expectations for a 4.1% increase and following a 0.7% fall the previous quarter.
The report came after official data showed that building approvals in Australia fell unexpectedly in April, tumbling 8.5% after a 6% rise the previous month. Analysts had expected building approvals to rise 0.3% in April.
Elsewhere, the Aussie was fractionally lower against the New Zealand dollar with AUD/NZD inching down 0.09%, to hit 1.2870.
Also Thursday, the National Bank of New Zealand said that its index of business confidence fell to 27.1 in May from a reading of 35.8 the previous month.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release reports on non-farm employment change and unemployment claims, as well as preliminary gross domestic product data.