Australian Dollar Advances On Rising Risk Appetite

The Australian dollar strengthened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Monday amid rising risk appetite, as investors awaited inflation figures this week from Europe and the U.S.

With recent inflation data surprising to the downside, markets have been skeptical if the Fed will follow through with another rate increase this year.

Crude oil delivery for August is currently up 0.46 percent or $43.47 per barrel.

Oil prices edged higher after posting losses for five weeks in a row, while the euro showed little reaction to news that Italy's government is bailing out two banks in the Venice region at a cost of 5.2 billion euros.

Trading activity remained thin across Asia as many markets in the region are closed for holidays to celebrate the end of Ramadan.

Last Friday, the Australian dollar showed mixed trading against other major currencies. While the aussie rose against the U.S. dollar and the yen, it held steady against the euro, the New Zealand, and the Canadian dollars.

In the Asian trading, the Australian dollar rose to a 4-day high of 1.0415 against the NZ dollar, from Friday's closing value of 1.0392. The aussie may test resistance around the 1.06 region.

Against the U.S. dollar and the yen, the aussie advanced to 5-day highs of 0.7584 and 84.39 from last week's closing quotes of 0.7568 and 84.22, respectively. If the aussie extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 0.77 against the greenback and 86.00 against the yen.

The aussie edged up to 1.4759 against the euro and 1.0057 against the Canadian dollar, from last week's closing quotes of 1.4786 and 1.0039, respectively. On the upside, 1.44 against the euro and 1.02 against the loonie are seen as the next resistance levels for the aussie.

Looking ahead, the German Ifo business climate index for June and U.K. BBA mortgage approvals data for May are due to be released later in the day.

In the New York session, U.S. durable goods orders for May is slated for release.

At 1:30 am ET, European Central Bank is scheduled to deliver opening remarks at the European Central Bank Forum on Central Banking, in Portugal.