Australian dollar brushes off weak US data

Financial and commodity markets analytics

The Australian dollar remains under pressure today weighed down by falling commodity prices and failing to capitalize on a round of disappointing data from the US.

At 5.33pm (GMT) the Aussie dollar was trading at US71.73c down from US71.01c in yesterday’s trade.

The market services PMI index out of the US dropped sharply from last month, coming in at 49.8, its lowest level in over 2 years and more importantly, below 50 which separates expansion from contraction.

The new home sales data fared even worse, coming in at -9.2 percent against analysts’ expectations of a -4.4 percent figure, which has put into question the state of the property market in America which has been one of the standout figures in the recovery of the US economy.

The latest round of data has added more pressure on the US Federal Reserve to hold off raising interest rates as many believe another move will stop the fragile recovery of the US economy in its tracks.

The Australian dollar is now expected to sit tight until early tomorrow when the latest Private Capital Expenditure (Capex) figures hit the market from Australia during the Asian session.

The numbers are an important indicator concerning inflation and will be closely watched by investors and the Reserve Bank of Australia as they ponder the next move on interest rates and a poor figure may see them cut rates in the nearest future as many predict.