Australian, NZ Dollars Fall On Fed Concerns

(RTTNews) - The Australian and NZ dollars declined against their major counterparts in the Asian session on Monday, as strong U.S. personal consumption expenditures data stoked fears of higher rates from the Federal Reserve.

The data renewed hopes that the Fed will hike rates at the next three monetary policy meetings.

Money markets expect the Fed funds rate to hit a peak of 5.408 percent in September.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that Australia's company gross operating profits surged a seasonally adjusted 10.6 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2022.

That blew away expectations for an increase of 1.5 percent following the upwardly revised 11.5 percent decline in the three months prior.

The aussie was down against the yen, at 91.33. On the downside, 88.00 is possibly seen as its next support level.

The aussie was marginally lower against the kiwi, with the pair trading at 1.0915. If the currency extends decline, 1.06 is possibly seen as its next support level.

The aussie weakened to near a 6-week low of 1.5731 against the euro and near 2-month lows of 0.6698 against the greenback and 0.9125 against the loonie, off its early highs of 1.5655, 0.6742 and 0.9163, respectively. The next possible support for the aussie is seen around 1.61 against the euro, 0.64 against the greenback and 0.89 against the loonie.

The kiwi depreciated to near a 4-month low of 1.7185 against the euro, more than 3-month low of 0.6131 against the greenback and a 4-day low of 83.61 against the yen, from its early highs of 1.7088 and 0.6173 and a 4-day high of 84.21, respectively. The kiwi is seen finding support around 1.75 against the euro, 0.59 against the greenback and 78.00 against the yen.

Looking ahead, at 5.00 am ET, the European Commission publishes euro area economic sentiment survey results.

U.S. durable goods orders for January will be featured in the New York session.