Daily Morning Report 17.06.2015

The Australian dollar dropped against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, as the greenback found broad support ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monthly policy statement due later in the day.

AUD/USD hit 0.7709 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since June 15; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7713, declining 0.51%.

The greenback remained support as investors eyed the Fed’s rate statement later Wednesday for any clear signal about a possible timeline for hiking interest rates, which have remained close to zero since late 2008.

On Tuesday, data showing that U.S. building permits rose to an almost eight-year high in May added to the view that the economy is regaining momentum after a weak first quarter.

Housing starts fell last month following strong gains in April but remained at levels consistent with a strengthening housing market.

The Aussie was steady against the New Zealand dollar, with AUD/NZD at 1.1082.

Earlier Wednesday, Statistics New Zealand reported that the country’s current account swung into a surplus of NZ$0.66 billion in the first quarter from a deficit of NZ$3.19 billion in the last three months of 2014.

Analysts had expected the current account to hit a surplus of NZ$0.23 billion in the last quarter.