The Australian dollar fell to a new low last seen in 2010: 0.8138. The fall below the 0.82 handle came during the Asian session, but seems more related to fresh buying of US dollars towards the all important meeting of the US Federal Reserve rather than anything Australia related.
It’s not that there aren’t reasons to sell the Aussie, especially as the central bank expressed a desire for 0.75. The pressure on the Aussie just needed another push from the dollar side.
What we did have from Australia is the MI Leading Index, which dropped 0.1% after rising 0.1% last month. This isn’t a top tier figure. A more important factor is the ongoing slide in commodity prices, especially iron ore in Australia’s case.
Yesterday we had negative news for Australia coming from China: the HSBC manufacturing PMI for the economic giant fell to 49.5, below 49.8 expected and below the 50 points that separate contraction from growth. This was the lowest in 7 months. The domestic demand slowed considerably and price indices also fell sharply.
Here is the chart, showing the 0.82 level which is now resistance and the new low of 0.8138. What is the key level on the downside: 0.8066, which was the low back in 2010.
More: AUD/USD Next Targets Down Under – Morgan Stanley