The euro weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Wednesday amid risk aversion, as markets in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and China all declined. Traders remain cautious and await the release of key U.S. inflation report later in the week, which could impact expectations for how quickly the U.S. Fed will cuts interest rates.
Weakness in mining and energy stocks amid tumbling commodity prices, also weighed on the investor sentiment.
Crude oil prices fell after three successive days of strong gains, consolidating ahead of supply data due out later today. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for October slumped $1.89 or 2.5 percent at $75.53 a barrel.
All eyes remain on AI darling Nvidia, which will release its fiscal second quarter results after the close of U.S. trading later in the day.
The highly anticipated earnings report will provide a key test for the AI demand story.
Traders also look ahead to the release of Commerce Department’s report on personal income and spending for July on Friday, which includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.
Economists currently expected the report to show the annual rate of consumer price growth was unchanged at 2.5 percent.
The annual rate of core consumer price is expected to tick up to 2.7 percent in July from 2.6 percent in June.
With inflation nearly defeated and the job market cooling, the inflation reading could impact expectations for how quickly the Fed cuts rates.
In the Asian trading today, the euro fell to a 5-day low of 1.1135 against the U.S. dollar and a 2-day low of 160.85 against the yen, from yesterday’s closing quotes of 1.1184 and 160.99, respectively. If the euro extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 1.09 against the greenback and 158.00 against the yen.
Against the pound and the Swiss franc, the euro slipped to nearly a 4-week low of 0.8420 and nearly a 3-week low of 0.9402 from Tuesday’s closing quotes of 0.8432 and 0.9411, respectively. The euro may test support near 0.82 against the pound and 0.92 against the franc.
Against Australia, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars, the euro dropped to more than a 1-month low of 1.6408, nearly a 1-1/2-month low of 1.7856 and more than a 2-week low of 1.4996 from Tuesday’s closing quotes of 1.6464, 1.7883 and 1.5031, respectively. On the downside, 1.59 against the aussie, 1.77 against the kiwi and 1.47 against the loonie are seen as the next support levels for the euro.
Looking ahead, the European Central Bank is slated to release monetary aggregates for July at 4:00 am ET in the European session.
In the New York session, U.S. MBA weekly mortgage approvals data and U.S. EIA weekly crude oil data are slated for release.
