Australian Dollar Eases Amid Evergrande Worries

The Australian dollar retreated from its early highs against its most major counterparts in the Asian session on Friday, amid renewed concerns over financial crisis at China Evergrande Group and its impact on the economy.

Evergrande's shares fell after it missed interest payment that was due on Thursday.

The developer has not yet indicated whether it will be able to make interest payments on March 2022 bond to avoid a default.

There is no signal from Chinese authorities to offer financial support to Evergrande for the bond payment.

Investors digested the Fed statement indicating an upcoming reduction in bond purchases and opening the door for a rate hike in 2022.

The aussie pulled back to 0.7289 against the greenback, 80.43 against the yen and 1.6104 against the euro, down from its early 1-week high of 0.7317, 10-day highs of 80.77 and 1.6054, respectively. The next likely support for the aussie is seen around 0.70 against the greenback, 79.00 against the yen and 1.64 against the euro.

The aussie pared gains to 1.0320 against the kiwi, from a high of 1.0337 hit at 8:30 pm ET. The aussie may locate support around the 1.01 level.

Data from Statistics New Zealand showed that New Zealand posted a record monthly merchandise trade deficit of NZ$2.144 billion in August.

That follows the upwardly revised NZ$397 million shortfall in July.

In contrast, the aussie held firm against the loonie, with the pair trading at 0.9251. The aussie is seen finding resistance around the 0.94 region.

Looking ahead, German Ifo business sentiment index for September is due in the European session.

U.S. new home sales for August will be published in the New York session.