Investing.com - The Australian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, but still remained within close distance of a three-year low amid expectations for the Federal Reserve to continue tapering its stimulus program.
AUD/USD hit 0.8804 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8790, adding 0.12%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8772 and resistance at 0.8906, the high of January 16.
The greenback strengthened after data on Friday showed that U.S. industrial production rose 0.3% in December, in line with expectations, rising for the fifth successive month.
Another report showed that U.S. building permits rose less-than-expected in December, but remained close to November’s five year highs.
The data indicated that while the recovery in the U.S. remains uneven, the economic outlook is continuing to improve. The dollar has strengthened broadly since the Fed announced its decision in December to scale back its asset purchase program, cutting it by USD10 million, to USD75 billion-per-month.
The Aussie found some support however after data on Monday showed that China’s economy grew 7.7% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, slowing from 7.8% in the previous quarter, but still above the 7.6% forecast by economists.
China is Australia's biggest export partner.
The Aussie was fractionally higher against the euro, with EUR/AUD easing 0.07% to 1.5408.