Australian, NZ Dollars Fall On China Policy Tightening Concerns

The Australian and NZ dollars slipped against their major counterparts in the Asian session on Friday, as strong China inflation data triggered concerns about tightening of monetary policy.

Official data showed that China's consumer prices rose 0.4 percent on year in March, beating expectations for an increase of 0.3 percent following the 0.2 percent contraction in the previous month.

Producer prices jumped 4.4 percent on year in March, up from the 1.7 percent rise in February. Economists had forecast an increase of 3.5 percent.

Investors reacted to the continued surge in coronavirus cases in the region and the possible restrictions on economic activity.

The Australian government had ordered an additional 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, as health advice warned of a potential link between rare blood clots and the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The latest survey from the Australian Industry Group showed that Australia's services sector continued to expand in March, and at a faster rate, with a seasonally adjusted Performance of Services Index score of 58.7.

That's up from 55.8 in February and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. It also marked the highest reading for the index since June 2018.

The aussie dropped to an 8-day low of 0.7588 against the greenback, from a 2-day high of 0.7661 seen at 8:00 pm ET. Should the aussie falls further, it is likely to test support around the 0.74 region.

The Australian currency depreciated to a 2-week low of 83.04 against the yen and more than a 5-week low of 1.5663 against the euro, off its early highs of 83.76 and 1.5553, respectively. The aussie is poised to challenge support around 81.00 against the yen and 1.58 against the euro.

The aussie reversed from its eary highs of 0.9621 against the loonie and 1.0849 against the kiwi, declining to a 3-day low of 0.9568 and a 4-day low of 1.0822, respectively. The next possible support for the aussie is seen around 0.93 against the loonie and 1.06 against the kiwi.

The kiwi weakened to 0.7009 against the greenback, from a 2-day high of 0.7066 hit at 8:45 pm ET. The kiwi is seen finding support around the 0.74 mark.

The kiwi touched a 2-day low of 1.6956 against the euro and an 11-day low of 76.70 against the yen, down from its early high of 1.6866 and a 2-day high of 77.24, respectively. The kiwi may locate support around 1.71 against the euro and 74.00 against the yen.

Looking ahead, Canada jobs data and U.S. PPI for March and wholesale inventories for February will be published in the New York session.