Commodity currencies such as the Australian, the New Zealand and
the Canadian dollars weakened against their major counterparts in
the Asian session on Monday as investors turned risk averse,
tracking the overnight sell-off on Wall Street and the European
markets amid rising concerns over slowing global economic growth
and uncertainty over the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy.
Many of the markets in the region remained closed for the Lunar New
Year holiday.
In economic news, the latest survey from the National Australia
Bank showed that business confidence in Australia showed a steady
if low level of support in January, with an index score of +2. That
was unchanged from the December reading following a downward
revision from +3.
Meanwhile, Crude oil prices tumbled Monday amid lingering doubts
about the health of the global economy.
Monday, the Australian, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars
fell against their major counterparts. The Australian dollar fell
0.38 percent against the U.S. dollar, 0.46 percent against the yen
and 0.31 percent against the euro.
The NZ dollar fell 0.04 against the U.S. dollar, 0.80 percent
against the yen and 0.56 percent against the euro. The Canadian
dollar fell 0.42 percent against the U.S. dollar, 0.89 percent
against the yen and 0.66 percent against the euro.
In the Asian trading, the Australian dollar fell to near 3-week
lows of 1.5987 against the euro and 80.36 against the yen, from
yesterday's closing quotes of 1.5788 and 82.08, respectively. If
the aussie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support
around 1.62 against the euro and 79.00 against the yen.
The aussie dropped to a 6-day low of 0.7019 against the U.S.
dollar, from yesterday's closing value of 0.7085. On the downside,
0.69 is seen as the next support level for the aussie.
Against the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars, the aussie
slipped to 4-day lows of 1.0651 and 0.9787 from yesterday's closing
quotes of 1.0686 and 0.9865, respectively. The aussie may test
support near 0.69 against the greenback, 1.05 against the kiwi and
0.97 against the loonie.
The NZ dollar fell to a 6-day low of 0.6589 against the U.S.
dollar, from yesterday's closing value of 0.6623. The kiwi is
likely to find support around the 0.64 area.
Against the yen and the euro, the kiwi dropped to a 2-week low
of 75.79 and nearly a 2-week low of 1.7000 from yesterday's closing
quotes of 76.74 and 1.6881, respectively. If the kiwi extends its
downtrend, it is likely to find support around 73.00 against the
yen and 1.72 against the euro.
The Canadian dollar fell to nearly a 3-week low of 1.5637
against the euro and a 2-week low of 82.34 against the yen, from
yesterday's closing quotes of 1.5584 and 83.17, respectively. If
the loonie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support
around 1.59 against the euro and 79.00 against the yen.
Against the U.S. dollar, the loonie dropped to 1.3951 from
yesterday's closing value of 1.3926. The loonie is likely to find
support around the 1.42 area.
Meanwhile, the safe-haven yen rose against its major rivals amid
rising risk aversion.
Data from the Bank of Japan showed that the M2 money stock in
Japan was up 3.2 percent on year in January, worth 923.7 trillion
yen. That topped forecasts for an increase of 0.3 percent following
the 0.1 percent gain in December. The M3 money stock added an
annual 2.5 percent to 1,242.0 trillion yen, unchanged and in line
with expectations.
The yen rose to a 15-month high of 114.87 against the U.S.
dollar and nearly a 3-week high of 165.78 against the pound, from
yesterday's closing quotes of 115.84 and 167.16, respectively. If
the yen extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around
113.00 against the greenback and 163.00 against the pound.
Against the euro and the Swiss franc, the yen advanced to near
2-week highs of 128.75 and 116.55 from yesterday's closing quotes
of 129.66 and 117.34, respectively. The yen may test resistance
near 127.00 against the euro and 115.00 against the franc.
Looking ahead, preliminary Japan machine tool orders for January
is due to be released at 1:00 am ET.
Swiss unemployment rate for January and Germany's industrial
production and trade balance, both for December, are slated for
release in the pre-European session at 1:45 am ET and 2:00 am ET,
respectively.
U.K. trade data for December is set to be published later in the
day.
At 4:30 am ET, Bank of England Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe is
expected to speak about at the British Property Federation
Residential Conference, in London.
At 5:00 am ET, Bank of Spain Governor Luis Linde will deliver
the lecture "An outlook on the Spanish Economy" at the conference
organized by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions
Forum, in London.
In the New York session, U.S. wholesale inventories data for
December and U.S. NFIB small business index for January
At 10:00 am ET,European Central Bank Board member Peter Praet to
deliver keynote speech at the "Lender of Last Resort: An
International perspective" conference organized by Harvard
University in Washington.
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