Investing.com - The Australian dollar traded higher against its U.S. counterpart during Thursday’s after the Federal Reserve did little to shock markets and following a spate of Australian data points.
In Asian trading Thursday, AUD/USD rose 0.22% to 0.9505. The pair was likely to find support at 0.9435, the low of October 14 and resistance at 0.9623, Monday's high.
Earlier Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that Australian building approvals rose 14.4% last week after falling 1.6% in the previous week. Analysts expected the number to rise 2.7% last week. The prior week’s reading was revised up from a drop of 4.7%.
In a separate report, the Reserve Bank of Australia said Australian private sector credit rose 0.3% in September, the same increase seen in August. Analysts expected a September increase of 0.4%.
The Statistics Bureau also Australia’s import producer prices jumped 6.1% last month after falling 0.3% in August. Analysts expected a September rise 0.4%.
The Aussie may also be getting some support because the Fed gave no indication regarding when tapering of its USD85 billion-per-month bond-buying program could commence. Easing programs are seen as beneficial to riskier currencies such as the Aussie.
"Economic activity has continued to expand at a moderate pace. Indicators of labor market conditions have shown some further improvement, but the unemployment rate remains elevated," the Fed said in a statement.
"Available data suggest that household spending and business fixed investment advanced, while the recovery in the housing sector slowed somewhat in recent months. Fiscal policy is restraining economic growth."
Elsewhere, AUD/JPY rose 0.07% to 93.50 after the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said that Japan’s average cash earnings rose 0.1% in the third quarter following 0.9% drop in the prior quarter. The second-quarter reading was revised down from a drop 0.6%. Analysts expected a third-quarter drop of 0.5%.
EUR/AUD fell 0.21% to 1.4454.
In Asian trading Thursday, AUD/USD rose 0.22% to 0.9505. The pair was likely to find support at 0.9435, the low of October 14 and resistance at 0.9623, Monday's high.
Earlier Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that Australian building approvals rose 14.4% last week after falling 1.6% in the previous week. Analysts expected the number to rise 2.7% last week. The prior week’s reading was revised up from a drop of 4.7%.
In a separate report, the Reserve Bank of Australia said Australian private sector credit rose 0.3% in September, the same increase seen in August. Analysts expected a September increase of 0.4%.
The Statistics Bureau also Australia’s import producer prices jumped 6.1% last month after falling 0.3% in August. Analysts expected a September rise 0.4%.
The Aussie may also be getting some support because the Fed gave no indication regarding when tapering of its USD85 billion-per-month bond-buying program could commence. Easing programs are seen as beneficial to riskier currencies such as the Aussie.
"Economic activity has continued to expand at a moderate pace. Indicators of labor market conditions have shown some further improvement, but the unemployment rate remains elevated," the Fed said in a statement.
"Available data suggest that household spending and business fixed investment advanced, while the recovery in the housing sector slowed somewhat in recent months. Fiscal policy is restraining economic growth."
Elsewhere, AUD/JPY rose 0.07% to 93.50 after the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said that Japan’s average cash earnings rose 0.1% in the third quarter following 0.9% drop in the prior quarter. The second-quarter reading was revised down from a drop 0.6%. Analysts expected a third-quarter drop of 0.5%.
EUR/AUD fell 0.21% to 1.4454.