Investing.com – The Australian dollar traded weaker on Thursday, the start of 2014 market action, as the country’s PMI fell to end last year in contraction.
Australia’s performance of manufacturing index in December was down by -0.1 points to 47.6. The index remained in the contraction zone for 10 months of 2013 and raised expansions only in the months of September and October because of a lift in sentiment related to Federal elections.
AUD/USD traded at 0.8897 down 0.31%, NZD/USD traded at 1.0839 down 0.01%, while USD/JPY traded at 105.34 up 0.04% with Japanese markets remaining closed on Thursday for holiday.
Elsewhere, in China, the December HSBC China Manufacturing PMI is due at 0945 Beijing (0145 GMT). This comes a day after the semi-official CFLP PMI out on Jan. 1.
The headline of the HSBC's flash report fell to 50.5 from 50.8, with the growth of new orders, export orders and output all slowing.
EUR/USD was down 0.08% at 1.3767.
This week, the Conference Board had reported that its index of U.S. consumer confidence improved to 78.1 in December from 72.0 in November, beating consensus forecasts for a 76.0 reading.
On Tuesday, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose at an annualized rate of 13.6% in October from a year earlier, the strongest pace since February of 2006 and above forecasts for an increase of 13.0%.
The data confirmed expectations for the Federal Reserve to continue winding down stimulus programs such as its USD75 billion in monthly bond purchases next year and let the economy stand on its own feet.
Fed bond purchases tend to weaken the dollar by driving down interest rates to spur recovery.
The greenback was down against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.16% at 1.6584.
Demand for the pound was strong due to recent weeks of positive U.K. economic reports, which fueled expectations on Tuesday for the Bank of England to raise interest rates ahead of other central banks.
Optimism for BoE policy shifts overshadowed solid U.S. consumer confidence data.
The dollar was down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.07% at 0.8913.
The dollar was up against its cousins in Canada with USD/CAD down 0.24% at 1.0645.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.12% at 80.29.
Australia’s performance of manufacturing index in December was down by -0.1 points to 47.6. The index remained in the contraction zone for 10 months of 2013 and raised expansions only in the months of September and October because of a lift in sentiment related to Federal elections.
AUD/USD traded at 0.8897 down 0.31%, NZD/USD traded at 1.0839 down 0.01%, while USD/JPY traded at 105.34 up 0.04% with Japanese markets remaining closed on Thursday for holiday.
Elsewhere, in China, the December HSBC China Manufacturing PMI is due at 0945 Beijing (0145 GMT). This comes a day after the semi-official CFLP PMI out on Jan. 1.
The headline of the HSBC's flash report fell to 50.5 from 50.8, with the growth of new orders, export orders and output all slowing.
EUR/USD was down 0.08% at 1.3767.
This week, the Conference Board had reported that its index of U.S. consumer confidence improved to 78.1 in December from 72.0 in November, beating consensus forecasts for a 76.0 reading.
On Tuesday, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose at an annualized rate of 13.6% in October from a year earlier, the strongest pace since February of 2006 and above forecasts for an increase of 13.0%.
The data confirmed expectations for the Federal Reserve to continue winding down stimulus programs such as its USD75 billion in monthly bond purchases next year and let the economy stand on its own feet.
Fed bond purchases tend to weaken the dollar by driving down interest rates to spur recovery.
The greenback was down against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.16% at 1.6584.
Demand for the pound was strong due to recent weeks of positive U.K. economic reports, which fueled expectations on Tuesday for the Bank of England to raise interest rates ahead of other central banks.
Optimism for BoE policy shifts overshadowed solid U.S. consumer confidence data.
The dollar was down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF up 0.07% at 0.8913.
The dollar was up against its cousins in Canada with USD/CAD down 0.24% at 1.0645.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.12% at 80.29.