Investing.com - The Australian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivered a downbeat assessment of the U.S. economy, but stopped short of signaling if additional stimulus measures are imminent.
AUD/USD hit 1.0289 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0310, dipping 0.05%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0234, Tuesday’s low and near-term resistance at 1.0238, the high of July 5 and a two-month high.
In testimony on the economy and monetary policy to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Bernanke said growth had lost momentum in the first half of the year and added that progress on cutting the U.S. unemployment rate was “frustratingly” slow.
However, he refrained from indicating whether the Fed would embark on a third round of quantitative easing to stimulate the economy, but reiterated that the central bank was prepared to take further action to support the economic recovery if necessary.
The Aussie was higher against its New Zealand cousin, with AUD/NZD up 0.22% to 1.2949 but slipped lower against the yen, with AUD/JPY down 0.12% to 81.45.
Later Wednesday, Ben Bernanke was to testify in front of the House Financial Services Committee. In addition, the U.S. was to publish official data on building permits and housing starts.
AUD/USD hit 1.0289 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0310, dipping 0.05%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0234, Tuesday’s low and near-term resistance at 1.0238, the high of July 5 and a two-month high.
In testimony on the economy and monetary policy to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Bernanke said growth had lost momentum in the first half of the year and added that progress on cutting the U.S. unemployment rate was “frustratingly” slow.
However, he refrained from indicating whether the Fed would embark on a third round of quantitative easing to stimulate the economy, but reiterated that the central bank was prepared to take further action to support the economic recovery if necessary.
The Aussie was higher against its New Zealand cousin, with AUD/NZD up 0.22% to 1.2949 but slipped lower against the yen, with AUD/JPY down 0.12% to 81.45.
Later Wednesday, Ben Bernanke was to testify in front of the House Financial Services Committee. In addition, the U.S. was to publish official data on building permits and housing starts.