CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The commodity currencies such as the Australia, New Zealand and the Canadian dollars weakened against their major currencies in the Asian session on Friday amid risk aversion, as investors reacted to a slew of economic data from China, the world's second-largest economy. They also remain cautious and took a step back to assess the U.S. Fed's near-term interest rate trajectory.
Crude oil prices fell sharply after Israel and Hamas agreed to implement a ceasefire agreement that was drafted and approved by the UN Security Council. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February settled lower by $1.36 or 1.7 percent at $78.68 a barrel.
Data from National Bureau of Statistics showed that China's gross domestic product expanded 5.4 percent on year in the fourth quarter of 2024, exceeding expectations for 5.0 percent and up from 4.6 percent in Q3. On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, GDP rose 1.6 percent, matching forecasts and up from 1.3 percent in the three months prior.
For all of 2024, GDP was up 5.0 percent after gaining 4.8 percent in 2023.
The bureau also said that industrial production climbed 6.2 percent in December, beating forecasts for 5.4 percent, which would have been unchanged from the November reading.
Retail sales improved an annual 3.7 percent, again topping expectations for 3.5 percent and up from 3.0 percent in the previous month.
Fixed asset investment was higher by 3.2 percent on year, shy of expectations for 3.3 percent, which would have been unchanged.
The jobless rate came in at 5.1 percent in December, above forecasts for 5.0 percent, which would have been unchanged from November.
In the Asian trading today, the Australian dollar slipped to nearly a 1-month low of 96.26 against the yen and a 2-day low of 1.6614 against the euro, from yesterday's closing quotes of 96.48 and 1.6589, respectively. If the aussie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 94.00 against the yen and 1.69 against the euro,
Against the U.S. and the Canadian dollars, the aussie edged down to 0.6195 and 0.8923 from Thursday's closing quotes of 0.6210 and 0.8939, respectively. On the downside, 0.60 against the greenback and 0.91 against the loonie are seen as the next supporting levels for the aussie.
The NZ dollar fell to nearly a 1-month low of 86.87 against the yen and a 2-day low of 1.8424 against the euro, from yesterday's closing quotes of 87.12 and 1.8382, respectively. If the kiwi extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 85.00 against the yen and 1.86 against the euro.
Against the U.S. and the Australian dollars, the kiwi edged down to 0.5584 and 1.1102 from Thursday's closing quotes of 0.5608 and 1.1075, respectively. The next possible downside targets for the kiwi are seen around 0.53 against the greenback and 1.12 against the aussie.
The Canadian dollar fell to nearly a 1-month low of 107.65 against the yen, from yesterday's closing value of 107.93. The loonie may test support near the 105.00 region.
Against the euro and the U.S. dollar, the loonie dropped to a 1-week low of 1.4844 and a 3-day low of 1.4410 from Thursday's closing quotes of 1.4829 and 1.4393, respectively. If the loonie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 1.51 against the euro and 1.45 against the greenback.
Looking ahead, the European Central Bank will issue euro area current account data for November at 4:00 am ET. Also, the Eurozone final inflation data for December is due to be released at 5:00 am ET in the European session.
In the New York session, U.S. housing starts, building permits, industrial and manufacturing productions reports, all for December, and U.S. Baker Hughes oil rig count data are slated for release.
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