By: Barbara Zigah
With growing investor demand for the U.S. Dollar, the Australian Dollar slipped in Asian trading today, closing lower for the 6th straight trading session and striking a new 11-week low. As reported at 5:00 p.m. (AEDT) in Sydney, the Australian Dollar traded at $0.8759; on Tuesday, it closed at $0.8794. The greenback strengthened in advance of the release of key economic data from the United States, including consumer spending, new home sales and personal income. Although GDP figures released yesterday showed that the American economy’s growth was at a rate less than forecast by analysts, it was enough to give market players confidence about the overall prospect of the U.S. recovery.
Despite the rise in the U.S. Dollar, specifically versus the Aussie currency, further gains will likely be harder to achieve. According to one currency strategist in Sydney, the gains in the U.S. currency are more likely attributed to unwinding of short U.S. Dollar positions than to investor confidence. Since mid-November, the Australian Dollar has lost nearly 7% versus the greenback; however, it should be noted that the Australian Dollar remains strong versus other major currencies. Analysts suggest that a reversal of the Aussie’s downtrend will likely emerge with the coming of the new year.
U.S. Dollar Gains on Aussie for 6th Straight Session
After working on Wall Street, Barb began her second career as a freelance writer at Daily Forex, where the CEO recognized fresh, untapped potential and was willing to give her a try. She’s never looked back. Since then, she’s worked steadily as a freelance writer and editor in the financial services and Forex-related industry.