Aussie Dollar Falls to Six-Week Lows Amid Weaker-Than-Expected CPI Data

Wednesday,   24-Apr-2019   10:42 AM (IST)

The Australian dollar fell to near six-week lows on Wednesday in Asia after the release of the latest inflation data that was softer than expected. The AUD/USD pair was down 1.0% by 11:30 PM ET (03:30 GMT) to 0.7034, the lowest level since March 8. The country’s consumer price index cooled to 0.3% in the first three months of 2019, compared to the expectation of a 0.4% rise. That followed a 0.4% rise in the final three months of 2018, data showed in the morning. Markets are also closely monitoring developments surrounding the Sino-U.S. trade talks as they could direct near-term Aussie moves. Officials from the two sides will meet in Beijing next week for another round of trade talks, according to a statement made by the White House overnight. The discussions “will cover trade issues including intellectual property, forced technology transfer, non-tariff barriers, agriculture, services, purchases and enforcement.” Chinese officials would then fly to Washington for further discussions after the talks in Beijing conclude, the White House said. The U.S. dollar index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies was little changed at 97.355. Overnight, the Commerce Department said new home sales rose 4.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 692,000 units last month, the highest level since November 2017. That was well above economists’ forecasts for a decline to 647,000 units. The USD/CNY pair was also largely unchanged at 6.7219. The USD/JPY pair traded flat at 111.85.