The Australian dollar slipped against its major counterparts in the European session on Monday, as the People's Bank of China left borrowing costs unchanged and Ukraine concerns intensified after Kyiv rejected Russia's demand to surrender the southeast port city of Mariupol.
Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that there can be no question of Ukrainian forces in Mariupol to lay down their arms. Russia's deadline to surrender has expired at 5 am Moscow time.
China kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged, as widely expected.
The one-year loan prime rate was retained at 3.70 percent and the five-year LPR, the benchmark for mortgage rates, was maintained at 4.60 percent.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators will continue with their talks via online.
The aussie dropped to 0.7385 against the greenback and 88.04 against the yen, off its early 2-week high of 0.7425 and more than a 4-year high of 88.50, respectively. The aussie is seen finding support around 0.70 against the greenback and 86.00 against the yen.
The aussie depreciated to 0.9305 against the loonie and 1.4976 against the euro, reversing from an early high of 0.9352 and near a 2-week high of 1.4879, respectively. If the aussie falls further, it is likely to test support around 0.91 versus the loonie and 1.52 versus the euro.
The aussie held steady at 1.0717 against the kiwi, after having retreated from a 2-week high of 1.0744 seen in the Asian session. At Friday's trading close, the pair was quoted at 1.0733.
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April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.