AUD/USD trades little changed ahead of Fed minutes, Chinese manufacturing data

Australian dollar managed to pare earlier losses and traded little changed against its US rival on Wednesday before the Federal Reserve Bank releases the minutes of its most recent meeting on policy later in the day and HSBC Holdings Plc announces the preliminary value of its manufacturing PMI for China on Thursday.

AUD/USD fell to a session low at 0.8991 at 1:23 GMT, after which consolidation followed at 0.9020, losing 0.06% for the day. Support was likely to be found at February 14th low, 0.8981, while resistance was to be encountered at February 18th high and also the highest level since January 13th, 0.9081.

HSBC Holdings Plc in cooperation with Markit Economics may report tomorrow that the preliminary reading of Chinese manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) remained unchanged at 49.5 in February, according to the median estimate of experts.

“China’s PMIs have been edging lower in recent months, and this may continue,” Greg Gibbs, a Singapore-based strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, wrote in an emailed report, cited by Bloomberg News. The Australian and New Zealand dollars “appear vulnerable”.

Earlier on Wednesday the Conference Board research group said that its Leading Index for Australia climbed 0.8% in December, following a 0.2% gain in the preceding month. Short-term and intermediate-term forecasts, regarding Australia’s economic growth, are usually based on this index.

At the same time, Australian annualized Wage Cost Index rose 2.6% during the final quarter of 2013, or the slowest pace since 1998, according to data by nations statistics bureau. The index rose 0.7% in Q4 compared to Q3, after a 0.5% climb in Q3 compared to Q2.

The yield on Australian three-year bonds fell four basis points, or 0.04 percentage point, to reach 2.97% today. The yield on nations benchmark 10-year bonds also dropped four basis points to reach 4.14%.

Meanwhile, at 19:00 GMT today the Federal Reserve Bank is expected to publish the minutes of its policy meeting conducted on January 28th-29th. Greenbacks volatility will probably be high.

Yesterday the US dollar sharply lost ground against its major peers, after it became clear that manufacturing activity in the region of New York suddenly decreased in February, after a month ago it registered its highest level since May 2012. According to the results in a survey by the Fed, the New York Empire Manufacturing Index, which gauges business conditions in the region, fell to a reading of 4.48 in February from 12.50 in January. Experts had expected a considerably lesser decline of the index, to 9.50.

The gauge of new orders plunged into negative territory this month, after reaching a two-year peak in January. The gauge of deliveries also plummeted, reaching a value of 2.1 in February, from 15.5 in January.

Elsewhere, the Aussie was steady against the euro, with EUR/AUD cross up 0.05% to trade at 1.5254 at 8:02 GMT. AUD/NZD was losing 0.16% on a daily basis to trade at 1.0849 at 8:02 GMT. The pair earlier touched a daily high at 1.0875.