The Australian Dollar fell to an eight-month low of $1.0117 against the US Dollar before recovering later in the session.
The currency’s decline came after the release of the latest building approvals report showed a surprise decline which added to speculation that the Reserve Bank of Australia will opt to cut interest rates later in the year, however most economists are predicting that the bank will choose to maintain the current rate of 1.75%.
“Today’s data continues to paint a picture of a fairly weak domestic economy,” said Jonathan Cavenagh, a currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. in Singapore. “Some of the softness in the Asian data is also not helping Australia. Price action for the Aussie is pretty negative at the moment.”
Home building approvals in the country declined for a second-month in a row in January after the number of new build permits fell by 2.4%. The currency was also weighed down by disappointing non-manufacturing PMI data out of China. The world’s second largest economy saw a decline to 54.5 in February from the 56.2 level seen in January.
The New Zealand Dollar followed its Australian cousin downwards against the US Dollar, hitting a two-month low due to the disappointing data emerging out of its biggest trade partner. Uncertainty in Europe and the introduction of budget cuts in the US has caused investors to seek shelter in safe havens.
The kiwi fell as low as 82.08 US cents, its lowest level this year.
The ‘kiwi’s’ drifted lower all day, pulled down by a weaker Aussie that reflected the Australian economic data,” said Joe Capurso, currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. “The kiwi’s still at a pretty strong level – the story for the week is probably going to be a little bit of a strong US dollar.”
Current AUD and NZD Exchange Rates
The Australian Dollar to Euro exchange rate is trading at 0.7791
The Australian Dollar to US Dollar (AUD/USD) exchange rate is trading at 1.01371
The Australian Dollar to Pound Sterling (AUD/GBP) exchange rate is trading at 0.6734
The Australian Dollar to New Zealand Dollar (AUD/NZD) exchange rate is trading at 1.2350
The New Zealand Dollar to Euro (NZD/EUR) exchange rate is trading at 0.6309
The New Zealand Dollar to Pound Sterling (NZD/GBP) exchange rate is trading at 0.5453
The New Zealand Dollar to US Dollar (NZD/USD) exchange rate is trading at 0.8208
The New Zealand Dollar to Australian Dollar (NZD/AUD) exchange rate is trading at 0.8097
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