Investing.com - The Australian dollar was lower against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, as fresh uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve will soon begin tapering its stimulus program weighed on market sentiment.
AUD/USD hit 0.9366 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9361, shedding 0.32%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9286, the low of September 17 and resistance at 0.9524, the high of September 19.
Markets were jittery amid uncertainty over the future direction of U.S. monetary policy after New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley defended last week’s decision by the Fed to keep its stimulus program on track.
Speaking Monday, Dudley said the pace of the U.S. economic recovery remains insufficient to start tapering the bank’s USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.
The Fed said last week that it wanted to see more evidence of a sustained economic recovery before it adjusted the scale of its bond buying program. The decision surprised markets, which had been expecting a modest reduction to the bank’s stimulus program.
In its biannual financial stability review, the Reserve Bank of Australia earlier said the nation's banks remained in good health and urged them to maintain loan standards as record-low interest rates spur households’ investment appetite.
The Aussie was higher against the New Zealand dollar with AUD/NZD rising 0.23%, to hit 1.1368.
Also Wednesday, official data showed that New Zealand's trade deficit widened unexpectedly to NZD1,191 million in August, from a deficit of NZD774 million the previous month. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to narrow to NZD743 million last month.
Later in the day, the U.S. is to release data on durable goods orders, a leading indicator of production, in addition to a report on new home sales.
AUD/USD hit 0.9366 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9361, shedding 0.32%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9286, the low of September 17 and resistance at 0.9524, the high of September 19.
Markets were jittery amid uncertainty over the future direction of U.S. monetary policy after New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley defended last week’s decision by the Fed to keep its stimulus program on track.
Speaking Monday, Dudley said the pace of the U.S. economic recovery remains insufficient to start tapering the bank’s USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.
The Fed said last week that it wanted to see more evidence of a sustained economic recovery before it adjusted the scale of its bond buying program. The decision surprised markets, which had been expecting a modest reduction to the bank’s stimulus program.
In its biannual financial stability review, the Reserve Bank of Australia earlier said the nation's banks remained in good health and urged them to maintain loan standards as record-low interest rates spur households’ investment appetite.
The Aussie was higher against the New Zealand dollar with AUD/NZD rising 0.23%, to hit 1.1368.
Also Wednesday, official data showed that New Zealand's trade deficit widened unexpectedly to NZD1,191 million in August, from a deficit of NZD774 million the previous month. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to narrow to NZD743 million last month.
Later in the day, the U.S. is to release data on durable goods orders, a leading indicator of production, in addition to a report on new home sales.