Investing.com - The Australian dollar was higher against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, as fresh expectations for further easing steps by the Federal Reserve ahead of its policy meeting next week weighed on demand for the greenback.
AUD/USD hit 1.0344 during late Asian trade, the pair’s highest since July 23; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0338, rising 0.30%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0242, the low of July 23 and resistance at 1.0429, the high of April 1.
The greenback remained under pressure after disappointing U.S. housing data on Wednesday sparked fresh expectations that the Federal Reserve may implement fresh easing measures to shore up growth.
The U.S. Census Bureau said new home sales fell by 8.4% to a seasonally adjusted 350,000 units in June, compared to expectations for a decline of 2.6% to 372,000. New home sales for May were revised up to 382,000 units from a previously reported 369,000.
Meanwhile, the Aussie’s gains were limited after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi dampened hopes that the euro zone’s bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, could be given a banking license, which would increase its firepower to fight the debt crisis in the euro zone.
ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny had said on Wednesday that there were some arguments in favor of such an idea.
In addition, the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds was at 7.38% on Thursday, below Wednesday’s euro-era high of 7.74%, but still above the critical 7% threshold, widely considered unsustainable in the long term.
The Aussie was lower against the New Zealand dollar with AUD/NZD falling 0.16%, to hit 1.3043.
Also Thursday, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand held its benchmark interest rate at 2.50%, in a widely expected move, citing New Zealand’s “poor” economic outlook.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on durable goods orders and unemployment claims, followed by a report on pending home sales.
AUD/USD hit 1.0344 during late Asian trade, the pair’s highest since July 23; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0338, rising 0.30%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0242, the low of July 23 and resistance at 1.0429, the high of April 1.
The greenback remained under pressure after disappointing U.S. housing data on Wednesday sparked fresh expectations that the Federal Reserve may implement fresh easing measures to shore up growth.
The U.S. Census Bureau said new home sales fell by 8.4% to a seasonally adjusted 350,000 units in June, compared to expectations for a decline of 2.6% to 372,000. New home sales for May were revised up to 382,000 units from a previously reported 369,000.
Meanwhile, the Aussie’s gains were limited after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi dampened hopes that the euro zone’s bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, could be given a banking license, which would increase its firepower to fight the debt crisis in the euro zone.
ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny had said on Wednesday that there were some arguments in favor of such an idea.
In addition, the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds was at 7.38% on Thursday, below Wednesday’s euro-era high of 7.74%, but still above the critical 7% threshold, widely considered unsustainable in the long term.
The Aussie was lower against the New Zealand dollar with AUD/NZD falling 0.16%, to hit 1.3043.
Also Thursday, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand held its benchmark interest rate at 2.50%, in a widely expected move, citing New Zealand’s “poor” economic outlook.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on durable goods orders and unemployment claims, followed by a report on pending home sales.