Commodity Currencies Slide On Weak Asian Shares

(RTTNews) - Commodity currencies such as the Australia, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars weakened against their major currencies in the Asian session on Monday, as investor sentiment remained cautious amid concerns about interest rates and the impact of higher borrowing costs on global economic growth.

Traders are reluctant to make significant moves as they await key economic data from the U.S., China and Europe for additional clues about the outlook for interest rates.

Traders also cautiously await domestic inflation data later in the week that will provide cues on the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil prices fell sharply, with traders waiting on a crucial OPEC meeting this week as oil producers struggling to come to a consensus on production levels. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended lower by $1.56 or 2 percent at $75.54 a barrel.

In the Asian trading today, the Australian dollar fell to a 4-day low of 97.81 against the yen, from last week's closing value of 98.36. The aussie may test support near the 95.00 region.

Against the euro, the aussie dropped to a 5-day low of 1.6667 from a recent near 3-week high of 1.6593. On the downside, 1.69 is seen as the next support level for the aussie.

Moving away from a recent near 4-month high of 0.6595 against the U.S. dollar, the aussie edged down to 0.6566. If the aussie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around the 0.63 area.

The NZ dollar fell to 4-day lows of 90.28 against the yen and 1.8055 against the euro, from last week's closing quotes of 90.73 and 1.8004, respectively. If the kiwi extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 87.00 against the yen and 1.82 against the euro.

Against the U.S. and the Australian dollars, the kiwi edged down to 0.6061 and 1.0844 from Friday's closing quotes of 0.6071 and 1.0833, respectively. The kiwi may test support near 0.58 against the greenback and 1.09 against the aussie.

The Canadian dollar fell to 109.00 against the yen and 1.4952 against the euro, from Friday's closing quotes of 109.57 and 1.4915, respectively. If the loonie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 107.00 against the yen and 1.50 against the euro.

Against the U.S. and the Australian dollars, the loonnie dropped to 1.3662 and 0.8990 from last week's closing quotes of 1.3635 and 0.8975, respectively. The loonie may test support near the 1.38 against the greenback and 0.90 against the aussie.

Meanwhile, the safe-haven currency, the yen rose against other major currencies amid risk aversion.

The yen rose to 4-day highs of 148.90 against the U.S. dollar and 168.76 against the Swiss franc, from last week's closing quotes of 149.44 and 169.28, respectively. The yen may test resistance around 147.00 against the greenback and 166.00 against the franc.

Against the euro and the pound, the yen climbed to 162.94 and 187.61 from Friday's closing quotes of 163.47 and 188.34, respectively. If the yen extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 160.00 against the euro and 184.00 against the pound.

Looking ahead, U.S. final building permits and new home sales data, both for October and U.S. Dallas Fed manufacturing index for November, are due to be released in the New York session.

At 9:00 am ET, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is set to speak at a conference in Brussels, Belgium.