AUD/USD Falls to 5-Month Low at 1.0160 on Unexpected Drop in Building Data

Australia’s dollar fell to an almost five-month low after a report showed building approvals unexpectedly declined, adding to speculation the Reserve Bank will cut interest rates this year.

The New Zealand dollar and the so-called Aussie slid against most of their 16 major peers after China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index for services industries indicated the slowest expansion in five months. China is Australia’s largest trading partner.

“Today’s data continues to paint a picture of a fairly weak domestic economy,” said Jonathan Cavenagh, a currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC) 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.”

Bloomberg

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