Investing.com - The Australian dollar moved lower against the U.S. dollar Friday, following the rally on Wall Street, a European plan to address regional debt and a better than expected performance from the U.S. economy.
AUD/USD hit 1.0692 in early Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since Thursday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0703, declining 0.23%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0232, the low of October 13, and resistance at 1.0765, the high of September 1.
Following a second summit in four days, European leaders presented their long-awaited plan to address regional debt threats with an expansion of their rescue fund, and an agreement from private investors to take a 50% write-down in their holdings of Greek government debt.
Officials agreed to expand the European Financial Stability Facility to USD1.4 trillion by persuading bondholders to accrue losses on Greek debt as well a recapitalization of European banks. The deal includes the possibility of an enhanced role for the International Monetary Fund to strengthen the bailout fund.
Later Thursday, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that gross domestic product expanded by 2.5% in the third quarter, slightly above an anticipated 2.4% gain and the fastest pace since the third quarter of last year.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Labor said that the number of Americans filing for initial jobless benefits fell by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 402,000 for the week ending October 22.
Market expectations were for a decline to 400,000 for the week.
Wall Street shares rallied on the news from Europe and the surprising GDP numbers, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.86% to 12,208.50, the Nasdaq Composite Index surged 3.32% to 2,738.63, and the S&P 500 leapt 3.43% to close at 1,284.59.
In Sydney, Australian shares moved lower in early Wednesday trade, on weakness in mining and financial issues, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rising 1.21% to 4,400.60.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar was lower against both the euro and the Japanese yen, with EUR/AUD rising 0.12% to hit 1.3235, and AUD/JPY down 0.22% to hit 81.29.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis was scheduled to release its latest monthly report on consumer spending later Friday.