Investing.com - The Australian dollar was sharply higher against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, amid high hopes of progress in the euro zone ahead of a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and International Monetary Fund President Christine Lagarde.
AUD/USD hit 1.0323 during late Asian trade, the pair’s highest since January 5; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0286, gaining 0.45%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0201, the low of January 6 and resistance at 1.0371, the high of January 5.
After meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Berlin on Monday, Angela Merkel warned Greece that it would not be possible to give further financial aid without swift progress on its second rescue package, including a voluntary write-down on Greek debt held by private creditors.
Merkel also said she was optimistic that the European Union will be able to sign off its fiscal pact by the end of January.
Meanwhile, concerns over weakness in the euro zone banking sector persisted after a report on Monday showed that overnight deposits at the European Central Bank hit a fresh record of EUR464 billion, indicating that banks in the region remain unwilling to lend to each other.
In Australia, official data showed earlier that building approvals rose more-than-expected in November, climbing 8.4% after a 10% drop the previous month.
Analysts had expected building approvals to rise 6.6% in November.
Elsewhere, the Aussie was moderately lower against the New Zealand dollar with AUD/NZD slipping 0.17%, to hit 1.2983.
Also Tuesday, a report showed that building consents in New Zealand fell 6.4% in November after a 10.7% increase the previous month.
AUD/USD hit 1.0323 during late Asian trade, the pair’s highest since January 5; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0286, gaining 0.45%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0201, the low of January 6 and resistance at 1.0371, the high of January 5.
After meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Berlin on Monday, Angela Merkel warned Greece that it would not be possible to give further financial aid without swift progress on its second rescue package, including a voluntary write-down on Greek debt held by private creditors.
Merkel also said she was optimistic that the European Union will be able to sign off its fiscal pact by the end of January.
Meanwhile, concerns over weakness in the euro zone banking sector persisted after a report on Monday showed that overnight deposits at the European Central Bank hit a fresh record of EUR464 billion, indicating that banks in the region remain unwilling to lend to each other.
In Australia, official data showed earlier that building approvals rose more-than-expected in November, climbing 8.4% after a 10% drop the previous month.
Analysts had expected building approvals to rise 6.6% in November.
Elsewhere, the Aussie was moderately lower against the New Zealand dollar with AUD/NZD slipping 0.17%, to hit 1.2983.
Also Tuesday, a report showed that building consents in New Zealand fell 6.4% in November after a 10.7% increase the previous month.