Investing.com - The Australian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, but gains were expected to remain limited as disappointing Chinese manufacturing data weighed on the export-related currency.
AUD/USD hit 0.9051 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9091, adding 0.10%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9037, the low of March 21 and resistance at 0.9134, the high of March 19.
The preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to an eight-month low of 48.1 in March from a final reading of 48.5 in February. Analysts had expected the index to tick up to 48.7.
China is Australia's biggest export partner.
Meanwhile, demand for the greenback remained supported after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen suggested last week that a rate hike might come about six months after the bank’s stimulus program ends, which is expected to happen in the fall.
The Aussie was fractionally higher against the euro, with EUR/AUD edging down 0.09% to 1.5176.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release preliminary data on manufacturing activity.