Investing.com – The Australian dollar eased up to a four-day high against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, lifted in part by stronger sentiment after New Zealand outlined a budget projecting a return to surplus in four years.
AUD/USD hit 1.0681 during late Asian trade, the pair’s highest since May 13; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0647, rising 0.15%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0568, Wednesday’s low and short-term resistance at 1.0716, the high of May 13.
Earlier in the day, New Zealand unveiled a budget that targets a narrower deficit for the next fiscal year through deep spending cuts, setting it on course for a surplus by the year ending June 2015.
In response to the budget, Standard & Poor’s, which has New Zealand’s AA+ sovereign rating on negative outlook, said the nation’s credit rating is secure as long as budget targets are met.
New Zealand's budget comes less than a week after Australia's government, when releasing its own budget, said it would return the country to a surplus within the next two years.
The Aussie was also higher against the yen, with AUD/JPY rising 0.26% to hit 87.03.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish its weekly report on initial jobless claims as well as industry data on existing home sales and official data on manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.
AUD/USD hit 1.0681 during late Asian trade, the pair’s highest since May 13; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0647, rising 0.15%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0568, Wednesday’s low and short-term resistance at 1.0716, the high of May 13.
Earlier in the day, New Zealand unveiled a budget that targets a narrower deficit for the next fiscal year through deep spending cuts, setting it on course for a surplus by the year ending June 2015.
In response to the budget, Standard & Poor’s, which has New Zealand’s AA+ sovereign rating on negative outlook, said the nation’s credit rating is secure as long as budget targets are met.
New Zealand's budget comes less than a week after Australia's government, when releasing its own budget, said it would return the country to a surplus within the next two years.
The Aussie was also higher against the yen, with AUD/JPY rising 0.26% to hit 87.03.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish its weekly report on initial jobless claims as well as industry data on existing home sales and official data on manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.