“The Australian and New Zealand dollars fell against most of their major counterparts after a report signaled manufacturing slowed more than estimated in China, the biggest trading partner of both nations.
The so-called Aussie slid for a third day against the U.S. dollar after the data added to signs the global economic recovery is struggling, reducing the appeal of riskier assets. Australian and New Zealand government bond yields touched their lowest levels this year.
“We’re not seeing a sustained period of recovery in the China data, which is a bit of a concern,” said David Forrester, a senior vice president for Group of 10 foreign-exchange strategy at Macquarie Bank Ltd. in Singapore. “It’s a reflection of weaker global growth, and it’s not good news for the Aussie or the kiwi.”
The Australian dollar slid 0.3 percent to $1.0242 at 5:19 p.m. in Sydney after touching $1.0221, the lowest since March 11. New Zealand’s kiwi dollar dropped 0.5 percent to 83.86 U.S. cents after reaching 83.64 cents, the weakest since April 4.
The HSBC Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for China slipped to 50.5 this month from 51.6 in March. Economists in a Bloomberg News survey predicted 51.5. Readings above 50 signal expansion.
Data on April 15 showed China’s economy slowed in the first quarter. Gross domestic productexpanded 7.7 percent, compared to 7.9 percent growth in the three months to December. Economists projected 8 percent growth in a Bloomberg poll.
