Investing.com - The Australian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, supported by upbeat Australian employment data, although gains were expected to remain limited as demand for the greenback grew stronger ahead of upcoming U.S. economic reports.
AUD/USD hit 0.7793 during late Asian trade, the pair's highest since June 3; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7754, adding 0.21%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7660, the low of June 4 and resistance at 0.7820, the high of June 3.
In a report, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that the number of employed people increased by 42,000 last month, exceeding expectations for a 11,000 rise.
However, the change in the number of employed people in April was revised to a 13,700 drop from a previously estimated 2,900 decline.
The report also showed that Australia's unemployment rate ticked down to 6.0% in May from 6.1% in April, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 6.2%. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to rise to remain at 6.2% last month.
Meanwhile, the greenback regained some strength after weakening broadly on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to U.S. retail sales and jobless claims data due later in the day for further indications on the strength of the economy.
The Aussie was sharply higher against the New Zealand dollar, with AUD/NZD rallying 2.62% to 1.1048.
The kiwi weakened broadly after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand unexpectedly cut its benchmark interest rate to a record-low 3.25% from 3.50% on Thursday. It was the first time the central bank lowered rates since 2011.
Commenting on the decision, RBNZ Governor Graeme Wheeler said the central bank has factored in another rate cut into its forecasts and is looking for a further fall in the local currency.