Investing.com - The Australian dollar held steady against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, hovering close to three-week lows as demand for the greenback remained broadly supported by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's latest comments.
AUD/USD hit 0.7804 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since May 5; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7827.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7761, the low of April 24 and resistance at 0.7932, the high of May 22.
The greenback strengthened after Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Friday that interest rates will be raised later in th year.
After that, future rate hikes will be small and gradual over the next several years, Yellen added.
The U.S. dollar had also been boosted on Friday after the Department of Labor said that the U.S. consumer price index rose 0.1% in April, in line with expectations and after a 0.2% gain the previous month.
Year-on-year, consumer prices slipped 0.2% last month however, compared to expectations for a 0.1% downtick, following a 0.1% fall in March.
The core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3% in April, exceeding expectations for a 0.2% increase, after a 0.2% gain the previous month.
The report came after a string of downbeat U.S. data on Thursday had fuelled fresh uncertainty over the strength of the economy.
The Aussie was higher against the euro, with EUR/AUD slipping 0.17% to 1.4053.