Investing.com - The Australian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, after the release of Australian economic data while sustained concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone weighed on demand for riskier assets.
AUD/USD hit 1.0177 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since July 13; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0237, adding 0.15%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0132, the low of June 20 and resistance at 1.0295, the high of July 3.
Official data showed earlier that consumer price inflation in Australia rose 0.5% in the second quarter, disappointing expectations for a 0.6% increase and following a 0.1% rise the previous quarter.
A separate report showed that Australian trimmed mean CPI, which excludes the most volatile 30% of items, rose 0.5% in the second quarter, less than expectations for a 0.6% increase and following a 0.4% rise the previous quarter.
The data came after the Conference Board said that its leading index for Australia rose 0.4% in May, after a 1.3% decline the previous month.
Meanwhile, concerns over the handling of Spain’s financial woes persisted after the yield on Spanish 10-year government bonds spiked to 7.71% earlier, well above the 7% threshold widely considered unsustainable, fuelling fears that Madrid will lose access to international credit markets.
In addition, officials from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund said Greece had little hope of meeting the terms of its bailout, casting fresh doubts over the country’s future in the euro zone.
The Aussie was higher against the New Zealand dollar with AUD/NZD adding 0.27%, to hit 1.3062.
Also Wednesday, official data showed that New Zealand’s trade surplus widened unexpectedly in June, rising to NZD331 million from a surplus of NZD232 million the previous month.
Analysts had expected the trade surplus to narrow to NZD77 million in June.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on new home sales, as well as a report on crude oil stockpiles.
AUD/USD hit 1.0177 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since July 13; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0237, adding 0.15%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0132, the low of June 20 and resistance at 1.0295, the high of July 3.
Official data showed earlier that consumer price inflation in Australia rose 0.5% in the second quarter, disappointing expectations for a 0.6% increase and following a 0.1% rise the previous quarter.
A separate report showed that Australian trimmed mean CPI, which excludes the most volatile 30% of items, rose 0.5% in the second quarter, less than expectations for a 0.6% increase and following a 0.4% rise the previous quarter.
The data came after the Conference Board said that its leading index for Australia rose 0.4% in May, after a 1.3% decline the previous month.
Meanwhile, concerns over the handling of Spain’s financial woes persisted after the yield on Spanish 10-year government bonds spiked to 7.71% earlier, well above the 7% threshold widely considered unsustainable, fuelling fears that Madrid will lose access to international credit markets.
In addition, officials from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund said Greece had little hope of meeting the terms of its bailout, casting fresh doubts over the country’s future in the euro zone.
The Aussie was higher against the New Zealand dollar with AUD/NZD adding 0.27%, to hit 1.3062.
Also Wednesday, official data showed that New Zealand’s trade surplus widened unexpectedly in June, rising to NZD331 million from a surplus of NZD232 million the previous month.
Analysts had expected the trade surplus to narrow to NZD77 million in June.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on new home sales, as well as a report on crude oil stockpiles.