Investing.com - The Australian dollar edged up against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, easing off a one-and-a-half month low but gains were expected to remain limited by dowbeat building approvals data from Australia and expectations for a U.S. rate hike in the near future.
AUD/USD hit 0.7635 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7667, adding 0.24%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7615, the low of May 28 and resistance at 0.7700, the high of April 15.
In a report, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that building approvals dropped 4.4% in April, compared to expectations for a 2.0% decline. The change in building approvals for March was revised to an increase of 2.9% from a previously estimated 2.8% rise.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained supported even after data showed that the U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter, as recent indications of a rebound in growth continued to fuel expectations for higher interest rates.
U.S. gross domestic product contracted at an annual rate of 0.7% in the first three months of the year, instead of the initial estimate of 0.2% growth the Commerce Department said. It was still better than economists’ forecast of a 1% contraction.
The Aussie was higher against the euro, with EUR/AUD declining 0.62% to 1.4283.
Later in the day, the Institute of Supply Management was to release data on manufacturing activity.