Investing.com - The Australian dollar dropped to six-month lows against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, after the release of downbeat consumer sentiment data from Australia, while the greenback remained supported by hopes for an early U.S. rate hike.
AUD/USD hit 0.9156 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since March; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9161, retreating 0.47%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8888 and resistance at 0.9218, the session high.
In a report, the Westpac Banking Corporation said consumer sentiment in Australia declined by 4.6% this month, after a 3.8% rise in August.
Meanwhile, expectations that the Federal Reserve is growing closer to raising interest rates have continued to support demand for the greenback.
The Fed was expected to cut its asset purchase program by another $10 billion at its upcoming policy meeting next week which would keep it on track for winding up the program in October, and to start raising interest rates sometime in mid-2015.
A study by the San Francisco Federal Reserve published on Monday indicated that Fed officials see rates rising earlier than markets expect.
The Aussie was lower against the euro, with EUR/AUD gaining 0.51% to 1.4129.