WSJ:Australian Dollar Down Late On More Global Market Jitters
Rates At 0705 GMT
Latest Change
AUD/USD 0.9707 -0.10
AUD/JPY 74.89 -0.41%
6.5% May, 2013 3.1641% -0.0166
4.5% Mar, 2020 3.7837% +0.393
10-Yr Spread To U.S. +202 bps +2 bps
SFE Dec 3-Year Futures 96.96 +0.03
SFE Dec 10-Year Futures 96.10 +0.35
SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--The Australian dollar was lower late Thursday, reflecting a fresh wave of jitters in global stock markets after a failed bond auction in Germany overnight and more ratings-agency warnings about France's credit standing.
At 0700 GMT, the Australian dollar was trading at US$0.9717, down from US$0.9764 late Wednesday. Against the yen, the currency changed hands at Y74.91, down from Y75.217.
"This week traders have been starved of even the hint of a good news story, which has sapped the demand for risk appetite out of higher yielding assets," said Tim Waterer, senior trader at CMC Markets.
"The Australian dollar has been shunned this week as traders move currency positions into the traditional defensive plays of buying yen and the greenback," he said.
The Aussie is likely to see further losses if global stocks maintain their losing streak, he added, tipping it to fall as far as US$0.9550 in the near term.
Trading was muted to a degree as investors awaited a speech later in the day from Reserve Bank of Australia Gov. Glenn Stevens.
The central bank cut its benchmark interest rate at the start of November, warning that the events unfolding in Europe were a major threat to the economy. Investors are keen to see if its rhetoric has changed since then.
RBA board member and Treasury Secretary Martin Parkinson said in a speech in China Thursday that global risks have increased.
"The unfolding and depressing saga of the European sovereign-debt crisis sees events change on a daily if not hourly basis, and events in recent days have taken the world into an even more dangerous place," he said.
A holiday in the U.S. is likely to thin trading ahead of the weekend.
"The absence of New York liquidity should discourage Europeans from trading since they would be more likely to move markets with their flows, so it may well be quiet," said Sean Callow, senior currency strategist at Westpac.
"Our bias is certainly to sell rallies. It is very hard to see any good news ahead," Callow added.
--By James Glynn, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8272-4685; james.glynn@dowjones.com
