Forexpros – The Australian dollar fell against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, as markets were jittery after the announcement of North-Korean leader Kim Jong il’s death and amid concerns over mass downgrades in the euro zone.
AUD/USD hit 0.9901 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since December 15; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9938, shedding 0.43%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9808, the low of November 21 and resistance at 1.0077, the high of November 29.
Concerns over geopolitical instability in northeast Asia escalated amid uncertainty over the future leadership of North Korea, sending the dollar broadly higher.
Market sentiment was also hit after Fitch ratings agency warned on Friday it may downgrade France and six other euro zone countries as it believes that a comprehensive solution to the region’s debt crisis is “technically and politically beyond reach.”
Meanwhile, investors eyed a conference call of euro zone finance ministers later in the day about the draft text of a new fiscal plan agreed earlier this month. Talks were also to include the size of individual loans to the International Monetary Fund.
Elsewhere, the Aussie was down against the New Zealand dollar with AUD/NZD declining 0.29%, to hit 1.3068.
Earlier Monday, data showed that the Westpac Banking Corporation’s index of consumer sentiment in New Zealand declined in the fourth quarter on concern the European debt crisis may lead to a global economic slowdown.
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