Investing.com - The Australian dollar was higher against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, despite the release of disappointing economic reports from Australia, as hopes for fresh stimulus measures in China lifted market sentiment.
AUD/USD hit 0.7070 during late Asian trade, the pair's highest since September 1; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7053, gaining 0.51%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.6916, Tuesday's low and resistance at 0.7156, the high of September 1.
The Westpac Banking Corporation reported on Wednesday that its consumer sentiment index for Australia fell to minus 5.6 in September from a reading of 7.8 the previous month.
A separate report showed that Australia's home loans rose 0.3% in July, confounding expectations for a 0.8% gain. Home loans increased by 4.8% in June, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 4.4% rise.
But market sentiment remained supported as a slowdown in Chinese exports and imports indicated that a recovery in the broader economy remains fragile and may need further government stimulus.
Data on Tuesday showed that Chinese exports slumped 5.5% from a year earlier, although better than forecasts for a decline of 6.0%, while imports plunged 13.8%, far worse than expectations for a drop of 8.2%.
The Aussie was also higher against the euro, with EUR/AUD retreating 0.87% to 1.5824.