Investing.com - The Australian dollar ended Friday’s session little changed against its U.S. counterpart, as investors were reluctant to make big moves ahead of Sunday's closely-watched referendum in Ukraine’s Crimea region.
AUD/USD fell to 0.8922 on Wednesday, the pair’s lowest since March 4, before subsequently consolidating at 0.9032 by close of trade on Friday, up 0.01% for the day but still 0.41% lower for the week.
The pair is likely to find support at 0.8922, the low from March 12 and resistance at 0.9102, the high from March 13.
Investors continued to monitor events in Ukraine, where tension over moves by neighboring Russia in the Crimean region have heightened demand for safe haven assets.
Tensions between Russia and the West remained high ahead of Sunday's referendum in Ukraine’s Crimea region, now controlled by pro-Russian forces, on whether citizens want to join Russia.
The U.S. and Europe have said they would impose economic and diplomatic sanctions on Russia next week, if the vote takes place.
Meanwhile, China’s faltering economy was also in focus after weak data released earlier in the week raised fresh concerns over the strength of the world’s second-largest economy.
Fears over problems in China’s financial sector also sapped risk appetite following the country’s first domestic bond default this month.
China is Australia's biggest export partner.
The Aussie was boosted on Thursday after data revealed that the nation’s economy added 47,300 jobs in February, exceeding expectations for an increase of 18,000.
Australia's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.0% last month, in line with expectations.
Data from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission released Friday showed that speculators reduced their bearish bets on the Australian dollar in the week ending March 11.
Net shorts totaled 40,850 contracts, down 0.6% from the previous week’s total of 41,108 net shorts.
In the week ahead, investors will be looking ahead to Wednesday’s monetary policy announcement by the Federal Reserve amid speculation the central bank is likely to continue to scale back its stimulus program.
The Fed is also to publish its economic forecasts and Fed Chair Janet Yellen will hold a press conference.
Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of these and other significant events likely to affect the markets. The guide skips Friday as there is no relevant data on this day.
Monday, March 17
The U.S. is to publish data on manufacturing activity in the Empire State, as well as reports on industrial production and long term securities transactions.
Tuesday, March 18
The Reserve Bank of Australia is to publish the minutes of its latest policy meeting, which contain valuable insights into economic conditions from the bank’s perspective.
The U.S. is to produce data on consumer inflation, in addition to reports on building permits and housing starts.
Wednesday, March 19
The Federal Reserve is to announce its federal funds rate and publish economic forecasts for inflation and growth. The Fed statement is to be followed by a press conference with Chair Janet Yellen.
Thursday, March 20
The U.S. is to publish the weekly report on initial jobless claims, as well as data on existing home sales and manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.