FX: Forex - AUD/USD slips to 2-day low after home loans report
Forex Pros – The Australian dollar slipped to a 2-day low against its U.S. counterpart on Monday after official data showed that home loan approvals in Australia fell further than forecast in February.
AUD/USD fell to 0.9265 during European late morning trade, its lowest since last Thursday; the pair subsequently consolidated around 0.9274, shedding 0.61%. AUD/USD was likely to find short-term resistance at 0.9405, the high of Nov. 16, 2009, and support at 0.9001, the low of March 26.
Earlier Monday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said the number of home loan approvals fell 1.8% during February. Economists had expected a more modest drop of 0.9%. The drop came after the country's central bank boosted borrowing costs and the government cut grants to first-time buyers.
The Aussie also tumbled versus the euro on Monday, with EUR/AUD shooting up 1.34% to reach 1.4664.
Later in the day, the United States was due to release its Federal budget balance, which reports the difference in value between the federal government's income and spending.
