Investing.com - The Australian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, after the release of positive business confidence data out of Australia, but the Aussie remained under pressure as global growth concerns continued to dampen demand for risk-related assets.
AUD/USD hit 1.0316 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0313, adding 0.15%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0270, the session low and a five-week low and resistance at 1.0368, the high of February 20.
In a report, the National Bank of Australia earlier said that its index of business confidence rose to 2 in the first quarter, from a reading of minus 5 in the previous quarter.
But investors remained cautious after the International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for global growth for 2013 and 2014 on Tuesday.
The IMF said continued monetary stimulus by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan was expected to continue to support growth in the U.S. and Japan, while the euro zone still posed the greatest threat to a recovery in the global economy.
The Aussie was steady against the euro with EUR/AUD dipping 0.07%, to hit 1.2648.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on initial jobless claims and the Philly Fed manufacturing index.
AUD/USD hit 1.0316 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0313, adding 0.15%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0270, the session low and a five-week low and resistance at 1.0368, the high of February 20.
In a report, the National Bank of Australia earlier said that its index of business confidence rose to 2 in the first quarter, from a reading of minus 5 in the previous quarter.
But investors remained cautious after the International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for global growth for 2013 and 2014 on Tuesday.
The IMF said continued monetary stimulus by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan was expected to continue to support growth in the U.S. and Japan, while the euro zone still posed the greatest threat to a recovery in the global economy.
The Aussie was steady against the euro with EUR/AUD dipping 0.07%, to hit 1.2648.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on initial jobless claims and the Philly Fed manufacturing index.