Investing.com - The Australian dollar rose against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, supported by the release of upbeat Australian economic growth data and after Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens said that interest rates are likely to remain on hold.
AUD/USD hit 0.9304 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9305, gaining 0.33%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9238, the low of August 21 and resistance at 0.9337, Tuesday's high.
Official data earlier showed that Australia's gross domestic product expanded by 0.5% in the second quarter, exceeding expectations for 0.4% growth. In the first quarter, Australia's GDP expanded by 1.1%.
On a year-on-year basis, Australia's economy grew 3.1% in the three months to April, compared to expectations for 3.0% growth, after the GDP expanded at an annualized rate of 3.5% in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said that "a very accomodative interest rate structure and a degree of stability and predictability have been in place for some time," signaling that interest rates are likely to remain unchanged for an extended period of time.
Mr. Stevens was speaking at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia Luncheon, in Adelaide.
The comments came a day after the RBA held its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 2.50%, in a widely expected move and said that the overvalued Australian dollar is weighing on efforts to support growth.
Demand for the greenback was also supported after strong U.S. factory data on Tuesday added to the view that the economic recovery is gaining momentum.
The Institute of Supply Management’s manufacturing index jumped to 59 in August, the most since March 2011, while data firm Markit said its manufacturing index rose to 57.9, up from 55.8 in July.
The Aussie was higher against the euro, with EUR/AUD shedding 0.32% to 1.4116.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish data on factory orders.