The Investor SA

Aussie drops to 1 week lows against stronger greenback

 

30 March, 2015

Investing.com

 

The Australian dollar dropped to one-week lows against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, as Friday's

upbeat U.S. economic growth report and comments by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen

continued to support demand for the greenback

 

AUD/USD hit 0.7712 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since March 20; the pair subsequently

consolidated at 0.7708, declining 0.61%. The pair was likely to find support at 0.7638, the low of

March 20 and resistance at 0.7842, the high of March 27. The greenback strengthened broadly after

the Commerce Department reported Friday that the U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of

2.2% in the fourth quarter, unchanged from the preliminary estimate and below economists’

forecasts for an upward revision to 2.4%. In addition, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in a speech on

Friday that a rate hike may be warranted later this year, but added that weakening inflation

pressures could force the Fed to delay.

 

Ms. Yellen said policy tightening could "speed up, slow down, pause, or even reverse course"

depending on how the economy is performing. The Aussie was lower against the euro, with 

EUR/AUD rising 0.36% to 1.4098. Later in the day, the U.S. was to release reports on personal

spending and pending home sales.