Investing.com - The Australian dollar edged lower against its U.S. counterpart in subdued trade on Tuesday, as ongoing concerns over potential downgrades in the euro zone and the handling of the region’s debt crisis continued to weigh.
AUD/USD hit 1.0136 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since December 23; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0153, shedding 0.16%.
The pair was likely to find short term support at 1.0125, the low of December 23 and resistance at 1.0214, the high of December 12.
Trading volumes were low, resulting in subdued trade as many investors were already away on year-end leave, resulting in subdued trade.
Market sentiment weakened amid fears of mass credit downgrades in the euro zone, as Standard & Poor’s was yet to announce if it will cut ratings on any of the 15 countries it has on credit watch negative.
Investors were also cautious amid signs of an economic slowdown in China, as the country’s company profit growth cooled in 2011.
But the Aussie’s losses were limited as upbeat U.S. data supported risk sentiment on Friday. Government data showed Friday that U.S. new home sales rose to a seven-month high in November, while durable goods orders rose a better-than-expected 3.8% in November from October.
Both reports came amid a week marked by bullish U.S. economic indicators, including a report showing that initial jobless claims fell to the lowest level since April 2008.
Meanwhile, investors were also eyeing a short term Italian bond sale on Wednesday and a ten-year bond auction on Thursday. Italy saw the yield on its ten-year bonds top the critical 7%-threshold on Friday, a level widely viewed as unsustainable in the long term, renewing fears over the fiscal health of the euro zone’s third largest economy.
Elsewhere, the Aussie was lower against the euro with EUR/AUD rising 0.26%, to hit 1.2875.
Markets in Australia remained closed for a post-Christmas bank holiday.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish industry data on house price inflation, as well as a report on consumer confidence and manufacturing activity in Richmond.
AUD/USD hit 1.0136 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since December 23; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0153, shedding 0.16%.
The pair was likely to find short term support at 1.0125, the low of December 23 and resistance at 1.0214, the high of December 12.
Trading volumes were low, resulting in subdued trade as many investors were already away on year-end leave, resulting in subdued trade.
Market sentiment weakened amid fears of mass credit downgrades in the euro zone, as Standard & Poor’s was yet to announce if it will cut ratings on any of the 15 countries it has on credit watch negative.
Investors were also cautious amid signs of an economic slowdown in China, as the country’s company profit growth cooled in 2011.
But the Aussie’s losses were limited as upbeat U.S. data supported risk sentiment on Friday. Government data showed Friday that U.S. new home sales rose to a seven-month high in November, while durable goods orders rose a better-than-expected 3.8% in November from October.
Both reports came amid a week marked by bullish U.S. economic indicators, including a report showing that initial jobless claims fell to the lowest level since April 2008.
Meanwhile, investors were also eyeing a short term Italian bond sale on Wednesday and a ten-year bond auction on Thursday. Italy saw the yield on its ten-year bonds top the critical 7%-threshold on Friday, a level widely viewed as unsustainable in the long term, renewing fears over the fiscal health of the euro zone’s third largest economy.
Elsewhere, the Aussie was lower against the euro with EUR/AUD rising 0.26%, to hit 1.2875.
Markets in Australia remained closed for a post-Christmas bank holiday.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish industry data on house price inflation, as well as a report on consumer confidence and manufacturing activity in Richmond.