Australian Dollar Falls As China Caixin Manufacturing PMI Hits 4-month Low
01:00, 2nd April 2018
(RTTNews) - The Australian dollar declined against its most major counterparts in pre-European deals on Monday, after a data showed that China's manufacturing activity grew at the slowest pace in four months in March on weaker production and new orders.
Survey results from IHS Markit showed that the headline Caixin Purchasing Managers' Index fell unexpectedly to 51.0 in March from 51.6 in February. The expected reading was 51.7.
Although the index stood above 50.0 no-change mark signaling expansion, the latest upturn was the weakest since last November.
Meanwhile, most Asian stock markets also declined, reversing an earlier advance.
Investors shrugged off news that China has imposed tariffs of up to 25 percent on 128 U.S. products, including frozen pork.
The aussie dropped to 81.56 against the yen, after having advanced to 81.80 at 6:10 pm ET. If the aussie falls further, 78.00 is possibly seen as its next support level.
Survey data from IHS Markit showed that Japan's manufacturing activity expanded at a solid pace, albeit weaker in March.
The headline Nikkei manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance, fell to 53.1 in March from 54.1 in February.
The aussie declined to 0.9893 against the loonie and 1.0612 against the kiwi, reversing from its early highs of 0.9922 and 1.0638, respectively. On the downside, 0.98 and 1.05 are possibly seen as the next support levels for the aussie against the loonie and the kiwi, respectively.
The aussie weakened to a session's low of 0.7672 versus the greenback from an early high of 0.7695. The aussie is likely to find support around the 0.75 level.
The aussie slipped to a 4-day low of 1.6054 against the euro and held steady thereafter. The pair closed last week's deals at 1.6019.
Looking ahead, U.S. construction spending for February, Markit's manufacturing PMI and ISM manufacturing index for March are due in the New York session.
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