Investing.com - The Australian dollar tumbled to one-week lows against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, weighed by the release of downbeat Chinese manufacturing activity data as traders returned to markets after the New Year holiday.
AUD/USD hit 0.7200 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since December 22; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7206, tumbling 1.13%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7178, the low of December 22 and resistance at 0.7289, the session high.
Data earlier showed that China’s Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 48.2 this month from 48.6 in December, confounding expectations for a rise to 48.9.
The downbeat data added to concerns over slowdown in the world’s second biggest economy.
China is Australia’s biggest export partner.
Markets were also jittery amid concerns over growing tensions in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran over the weekend.
The move followed a weekend storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran in response to the kingdom's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.
The Aussie was also sharply lower against the euro, with EUR/AUD rallying 1.52% to 1.5122.