Antipodean Currencies Slide As Asian Markets Traded Lower

The Antipodean currencies such as the Australia and the New Zealand dollars weakened against their major currencies in the Asian session on Tuesday, after Asian stock market traded lower following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders largely stayed cautious and seem reluctant to make significant moves ahead of some key economic data, including a report on U.S. consumer price inflation said to be preferred by the U.S. Fed.

The inflation data could have a notable impact on the outlook for interest rates, as Fed officials have said they need greater confidence inflation is slowing before cutting rates.

Weakness across most sectors led by technology and mining stocks, also weighed on sentiment.

In the Asian trading today, the Australian dollar fell to nearly a 1-1/2-month low of 1.6627 against the euro and a 6-day low of 98.21 against the yen, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.6586 and 98.56, respectively. If the aussie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 1.67 against the euro and 97.00 against the yen.

Against the U.S. and the Canadian dollars, the aussie slipped to 1-week lows of 0.6525 and 0.8817 from Monday's closing quotes of 0.6540 and 0.8830, respectively. The aussie may test support near 0.64 against the greenback and 0.87 against the loonie.

The NZ dollar fell to a 1-week low of 0.6151 against the U.S. dollar, a 6-day low of 92.58 against the yen and nearly a 2-week low of 1.7635 against the euro, from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.6172, 93.01 and 1.7575, respectively. If the kiwi extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 0.60 against the greenback, 91.00 against the yen and 1.78 against the euro.

Against the Australian dollar, the kiwi edged down to 1.0621 from Monday's closing value of 1.0595. On the downside, 1.07 is seen as the next support level for the kiwi.

In the New York session, U.S. durable goods orders for January, house price index for December, U.S. Consumer Boards's consumer confidence for February, U.S. Richmond Fed manufacturing index for February and Dallas Fed services index for February are slated for release.

At 8:40 am ET, Bank of England Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden will give a speech at AFME bonds conference, in London, U.K.

At 9:05 am ET, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr will deliver a speech virtually on "Counterfeit Credit Risk" before the Conference on Counterparty Credit Risk Management hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, in Washington D.C., U.S.