Investing.com - The Australian dollar traded lower against its U.S. rival during Friday’s Asian session as investors backed away from riskier assets due to some tepid U.S. data and fears of over a looming budget showdown on Capitol Hill.
In Asian trading Friday, AUD/USD fell 0.12% to 0.9350. 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.
Congressional Republicans and Democrats worked to craft a budget proposal to avoid an October partial government shutdown.
The House of Representatives approved legislation to fund the government through Dec. 15, however, lawmakers also voted to defund President Barack Obama's healthcare bill, the Affordable Care Act, though the Democratically-controlled Senate was expected to strip the bill of that language.
In U.S. economic news out Thursday, the Commerce Department’s third estimate of second-quarter U.S. GDP growth was 2.5%, matching the second estimate released last month. Consumer spending rose 1.8% in the second quarter after increasing 2.3% in the first quarter.
The Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 5,000 to 305,000 last week. Economists were expecting an increase to 327,000 claims. The less volatile four-week moving average fell by 7,000 to 308,000, the lowest reading since June 2007.
The National Association of Realtors said pending home sales dropped 1.6% last month after a downwardly revised 1.4% drop in July. Economists expected a 1% August decline. Purchases rose 2.9% on a year-over-year basis.
Elsewhere, AUD/JPY lost 0.43% to 92.31 after Japan’s Statistics Bureau said Japan’s core consumer price inflation rose 0.8% last month after a 0.7% increase in July. Analysts expected an August increase of 0.7%.
The Statistics Bureau also said that Tokyo’s core CPI, which excludes fresh food costs, fell 0.2% in August. Analysts expected a decline of 0.3%.
AUD/NZD fell 0.11% to 1.1282.
In Asian trading Friday, AUD/USD fell 0.12% to 0.9350. 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.
Congressional Republicans and Democrats worked to craft a budget proposal to avoid an October partial government shutdown.
The House of Representatives approved legislation to fund the government through Dec. 15, however, lawmakers also voted to defund President Barack Obama's healthcare bill, the Affordable Care Act, though the Democratically-controlled Senate was expected to strip the bill of that language.
In U.S. economic news out Thursday, the Commerce Department’s third estimate of second-quarter U.S. GDP growth was 2.5%, matching the second estimate released last month. Consumer spending rose 1.8% in the second quarter after increasing 2.3% in the first quarter.
The Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 5,000 to 305,000 last week. Economists were expecting an increase to 327,000 claims. The less volatile four-week moving average fell by 7,000 to 308,000, the lowest reading since June 2007.
The National Association of Realtors said pending home sales dropped 1.6% last month after a downwardly revised 1.4% drop in July. Economists expected a 1% August decline. Purchases rose 2.9% on a year-over-year basis.
Elsewhere, AUD/JPY lost 0.43% to 92.31 after Japan’s Statistics Bureau said Japan’s core consumer price inflation rose 0.8% last month after a 0.7% increase in July. Analysts expected an August increase of 0.7%.
The Statistics Bureau also said that Tokyo’s core CPI, which excludes fresh food costs, fell 0.2% in August. Analysts expected a decline of 0.3%.
AUD/NZD fell 0.11% to 1.1282.