Investing.com - The Australian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, supported by the release of upbeat consumer sentiment data from Australia, but gains were expected to remain limited as demand for the greenback was still broadly supported.
AUD/USD hit 0.8708 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8719, rising 0.38%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8588, Tuesday's low and resistance at 0.8764, the high of November 5.
In a report, the Westpac Banking Corporation said Australia's consumer sentiment rose 1.9% in November, after a 0.9% increase the previous month.
A separate report showed that Australian wage prices increased by 0.6% in the third quarter, in line with expectations and unchanged from the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, the greenback found mild support after falling in the previous two sessions after Friday’s softer than expected U.S. jobs report prompted investors to book profits in the greenback.
The U.S. dollar has rallied over the past two months as broadly stronger economic data fuelled expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates sometime in 2015.
The Aussie was lower against the New Zealand dollar, with AUD/NZD retreating 0.44% to 1.1081.
Also Wednesday, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler saying that "the exchange rate is unjustified and unsustainable".
"Further increases in short-term interest rates may be required in coming years," Wheeler added.
The comments followed the release of the RBNZ's biannual Financial Stability Report, in which the central bank said it won't relax mortgage lending restrictions for now as surging immigration and low borrowing costs could re-ignite the housing market.