Investing.com - The Australian dollar weakened in Asian trade on Wednesday as third quarter wage-price index data rose less than expected and at the slowest pace since records on the index began in September 1997.
The weaker data may signal that inflation pressures from higher wages remain distant, giving some scope for a further cut in the Reserve Bank of Australia's cash rate now at a record low 2.5%, which may have tipped the currency weaker.
AUD/USD traded at 0.9290, down 0.12% in a 0.9286 - 0.9308 range, after the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that third quarter wage price data rose 0.5% compared to a forecast of +0.7%.
But the wage-price data capped a whipsaw day for the Australian dollar which gained in early trade after a November survey by Westpac-Melbourne Institute showed its consumer sentiment index rose 1.9% to 110.3, nearing a peak earlier this year as house prices in Sydney and the state of New South Wales and in Western Australia rose smartly.
The survey comes on the heels of disappointing October business confidence and conditions in a survey by National Australia Bank released Tuesday. Both surveys are closely watched by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Elsewhere in Asia the yen also showed minor volatility by gaining against the dollar in early trade despite core machinery orders down a surprise 2.1% on month in September in a sharp turnaround from strong growth the previous month.
But USD/JPY latched onto earlier dollar strength and rebounded to 99.66, up 0.02%, in a range of 99.55 - 99.68. Machinery orders are a leading indicator of corporate capital investment and assessed for pricing intentions as well with the Bank of Japan setting policy to reach sustained annual inflation of 2% by 2015.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew arrived in the region for a series of leadership meetings in Singapore and Malaysia on Wednesday as well as Beijing later in the week in a visit that will be closely watched for comments on recent dollar strength.
The dollar enjoyed support overnight amid ongoing expectations for the Federal Reserve to begin scaling back its USD85 billion in monthly bond purchases either in December or in early 2014.
The weaker data may signal that inflation pressures from higher wages remain distant, giving some scope for a further cut in the Reserve Bank of Australia's cash rate now at a record low 2.5%, which may have tipped the currency weaker.
AUD/USD traded at 0.9290, down 0.12% in a 0.9286 - 0.9308 range, after the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that third quarter wage price data rose 0.5% compared to a forecast of +0.7%.
But the wage-price data capped a whipsaw day for the Australian dollar which gained in early trade after a November survey by Westpac-Melbourne Institute showed its consumer sentiment index rose 1.9% to 110.3, nearing a peak earlier this year as house prices in Sydney and the state of New South Wales and in Western Australia rose smartly.
The survey comes on the heels of disappointing October business confidence and conditions in a survey by National Australia Bank released Tuesday. Both surveys are closely watched by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Elsewhere in Asia the yen also showed minor volatility by gaining against the dollar in early trade despite core machinery orders down a surprise 2.1% on month in September in a sharp turnaround from strong growth the previous month.
But USD/JPY latched onto earlier dollar strength and rebounded to 99.66, up 0.02%, in a range of 99.55 - 99.68. Machinery orders are a leading indicator of corporate capital investment and assessed for pricing intentions as well with the Bank of Japan setting policy to reach sustained annual inflation of 2% by 2015.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew arrived in the region for a series of leadership meetings in Singapore and Malaysia on Wednesday as well as Beijing later in the week in a visit that will be closely watched for comments on recent dollar strength.
The dollar enjoyed support overnight amid ongoing expectations for the Federal Reserve to begin scaling back its USD85 billion in monthly bond purchases either in December or in early 2014.