Investing.com - The Australian dollar slipped against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, as fresh concerns over further debt contagion in the euro zone weighed on demand for riskier assets ahead of talks to discuss the lending capacity of the region’s permanent bailout fund.
AUD/USD hit 1.0430 during late Asian trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0453 shedding 0.13%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0371, the low of March 23 and resistance at 1.0526, the high of March 21.
Sentiment weakened after Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Monti warned on Sunday that Spain could reignite the euro zone’s debt crisis, pointing to the country’s struggle to control its finances.
Global growth concerns also weighed on the Aussie after data showed last week that manufacturing activity contracted this month in China and that it remained in contraction territory for the eighth consecutive month in the euro zone.
Meanwhile, markets were eyeing a meeting of finance ministers on March 30 to seek agreement to raise a EUR500 billion ceiling on bailout funding.
The Aussie was fractionally higher against the New Zealand dollar with AUD/NZD edging up 0.07%, to hit 1.2800.
Also Monday, official data showed that New Zealand’s trade balance swung into a higher surplus than expected in February, climbing to NZD161 million from a deficit of NZD159 million the previous month.
Analysts had expected the trade balance to rise to a surplus of NZD154 million in February.
Later in the day, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was scheduled to speak at the National Association for Business Economists 2012 Policy Conference. The U.S. was also to publish industry data on pending home sales.
AUD/USD hit 1.0430 during late Asian trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0453 shedding 0.13%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0371, the low of March 23 and resistance at 1.0526, the high of March 21.
Sentiment weakened after Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Monti warned on Sunday that Spain could reignite the euro zone’s debt crisis, pointing to the country’s struggle to control its finances.
Global growth concerns also weighed on the Aussie after data showed last week that manufacturing activity contracted this month in China and that it remained in contraction territory for the eighth consecutive month in the euro zone.
Meanwhile, markets were eyeing a meeting of finance ministers on March 30 to seek agreement to raise a EUR500 billion ceiling on bailout funding.
The Aussie was fractionally higher against the New Zealand dollar with AUD/NZD edging up 0.07%, to hit 1.2800.
Also Monday, official data showed that New Zealand’s trade balance swung into a higher surplus than expected in February, climbing to NZD161 million from a deficit of NZD159 million the previous month.
Analysts had expected the trade balance to rise to a surplus of NZD154 million in February.
Later in the day, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was scheduled to speak at the National Association for Business Economists 2012 Policy Conference. The U.S. was also to publish industry data on pending home sales.