Investing.com - The Australian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, despite downbeat Australian consumer sentiment data, as the White House said President Barack Obama is set to nominate Janet Yellen to head the Federal Reserve.
AUD/USD hit 0.9484 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9436, adding 0.13%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9388, the low of October 7 and resistance at 0.9524, the high of September 19.
In a report, the Westpac Banking Corporation said consumer sentiment in Australia declined by 2.1% in October, after a 4.7% increase the previous month.
Meanwhile, the greenback found some support ahead of Ms. Yellen’s nomination amid expectations that under her leadership Fed policy could remain accommodative for some time. If Ms. Yellen’s nomination is confirmed by the Senate, she will succeed Chairman Ben Bernanke, whose term ends January 31.
But investors remained cautious as a partial U.S. government shutdown dragged on into a second week, with few signs of progress towards a resolution ahead of an October 17 deadline to avoid a U.S. sovereign default.
International Monetary Fund Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard said Tuesday that a prolonged failure to raise the U.S. debt ceiling would "almost certainly derail the recovery".
The Aussie was higher against the euro with EUR/AUD shedding 0.32%, to hit 1.4356.
Later in the day, the Fed was to release the minutes of its latest policy meeting.
AUD/USD hit 0.9484 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9436, adding 0.13%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9388, the low of October 7 and resistance at 0.9524, the high of September 19.
In a report, the Westpac Banking Corporation said consumer sentiment in Australia declined by 2.1% in October, after a 4.7% increase the previous month.
Meanwhile, the greenback found some support ahead of Ms. Yellen’s nomination amid expectations that under her leadership Fed policy could remain accommodative for some time. If Ms. Yellen’s nomination is confirmed by the Senate, she will succeed Chairman Ben Bernanke, whose term ends January 31.
But investors remained cautious as a partial U.S. government shutdown dragged on into a second week, with few signs of progress towards a resolution ahead of an October 17 deadline to avoid a U.S. sovereign default.
International Monetary Fund Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard said Tuesday that a prolonged failure to raise the U.S. debt ceiling would "almost certainly derail the recovery".
The Aussie was higher against the euro with EUR/AUD shedding 0.32%, to hit 1.4356.
Later in the day, the Fed was to release the minutes of its latest policy meeting.