Australian Dollar Falls Against Majors
02:14, 3rd November 2014
(RTTNews) - The Australian dollar weakened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Monday amid the release of mixed economic data.
Data from Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that total building approvals fell 13.4 percent year-over-year in September, more than the 0.9 percent drop expected by economics. In August, building approvals had risen 16 percent.
On a month-over-month basis, building approvals decreased 11 percent following the 3.4 percent rise in August. This was notably more than the 1 percent decline expected by economists.
In other economic news, data from Markit Economics and HSBC Bank showed that China's manufacturing sector continued to expand as expected in October. The HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers' index came in at 50.4 in October, confirming the flash estimate and the consensus estimate. This was slightly higher than the three-month high of 50.2 in September.
Last Friday, the Bank of Japan lifted its purchases of Japanese government bond purchases so that the outstanding amount will rise by around JPY 80 trillion compared to the earlier target of JPY 50 trillion.
Data from National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing released last Saturday showed that China's manufacturing activity dropped to a 5-month low in October. The manufacturing PMI slowed to 50.8 in October, compared to September reading of 51.1. The index was also below the expected score of 51.2.
Meanwhile, the Australian stock traded lower on mixed manufacturing data from China and weak guidance from Woolworths.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is currently down 17.20 points or 0.31 percent at 5,509. The broader All Ordinaries index is also down 16.10 points or 0.29 percent at 5,488.
Last Friday, the Australian dollar rose percent 0.16 against the U.S. dollar, 2.25 percent against the yen, 0.31 percent against the euro, 0.40 percent against the Canadian dollar and 0.19 percent against the NZ dollar.
In the Asian session, the Australian dollar fell to nearly a 3-week low of 0.8702, from last week's closing quote of 0.8794. If the aussie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around the 0.86 area.
Against the yen, the aussie edged down to 98.12 from last week's closing quote of 98.78. This may be compared to an early 1-1/2 year high of 98.94. The aussie may test support near the 95.51 region.
The aussie dropped to 4-day lows of 1.4329 against the euro and 0.9835 against the Canadian dollar, from Friday's closing quotes of 1.4270 and 0.9907, respectively. The aussie is likely to find support around 1.45 against the euro and 0.96 against the loonie.
Looking ahead, Australian commodity index for October is due at 12:20 am ET.
In the European session, final Manufacturing PMI reports from major European economies for October are due to be released.
In the New York session, Canadian manufacturing PMI and Markit's U.S. manufacturing PMI for October, ISM'S U.S. manufacturing data for October and construction spending data for September are due to be released.
At 12:50 pm ET, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz will deliver a speech about the legacy of the financial crisis at the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships, in Toronto.
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