Australian Dollar Falls Amid Risk Aversion

The Australian dollar declined against its major counterparts in pre-European deals on Wednesday, as Asian stock markets fell following the weak lead from Wall Street overnight as well as the surprise news of a U.K. election that added to escalating geopolitical tensions concerning North Korea.

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday called for a snap general election to be held June 8 to seek a strong mandate for Brexit.

Geo-political uncertainty coupled with weaker-than-expected results from the likes of Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson and IBM made investors cautious.

Oil prices fell after the American Petroleum Institute reported a lower than expected dip in crude inventories last week and on Saudi Arabia's rhetoric on whether to extend the OPEC production cuts beyond June.

Meanwhile, two men linked to Islamic State have been arrested on suspicion of planning an "imminent terrorist attack" in France ahead of the first round of presidential election on Sunday.

Weekly survey compiled by the ANZ bank and Roy Morgan Research showed that Australia's consumer sentiment weakened during the week ended April 16, partly reversing the previous week's gain.

The consumer confidence index fell by 1.9 percent to 112.6 from 114.8 in the preceding week. Moreover, this dragged the index back down below its long run average.

The aussie slipped against its major rivals on Wednesday, amid falling commodity prices and tensions regarding North Korea. It fell 1.2 percent against the euro, 0.4 percent against the greenback and 0.8 percent against both the yen and the kiwi for the day.

The currency has been trading in a negative territory in the Asian session.

The aussie reversed from early highs of 1.4185 against the euro and 1.0739 against the kiwi, declining to more than a 3-week low of 1.4291 and a 1-1/2-month low of 1.0677, respectively. On the downside, the aussie may target support around 1.44 against the euro and 1.05 against the kiwi.

The aussie edged down to 1.0069 versus the loonie, from a high of 1.0121 hit at 8:00 pm ET. The next possible support for the aussie-loonie pair is seen around the 0.99 zone.

The aussie fell to a weekly low of 0.7505 against the greenback, after having advanced to 0.7563 at 6:00 pm ET. Continuation of the aussie's downtrend may see it challenging support around the 0.74 mark.

The aussie fell to 81.62 against the yen, its lowest since November 22, 2016. The aussie is seen finding support around the 80.00 area.

Looking ahead, Eurozone final consumer price inflation for March and trade data for February are due in the European session.

The European Central Bank board member Benoit Coeure speaks at C. Peter McColough Roundtable Series on International Economics in New York at 9:00 am ET.

The European Central Bank board member Peter Praet will give a speech at the "Levy Economics Institute's 26th annual Hyman P. Minsky conference" at 10:30 am ET.

At 12:00 pm ET, the Fed releases Beige book report on economic conditions.

At 1:00 pm ET, the Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins participates in a panel discussion titled "FinTech and the Transformation of Financial Services" at the International Monetary Fund, in Washington DC.