Investing.com - The Australian dollar edged up to more than four-month highs against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, after the Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates unchanged, although investors remained cautious after mixed manufacturing reports from China.
AUD/USD hit 0.9302 during late Asian trade, the pair's highest since November 21; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9276, adding 0.13%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9154, the low of March 26 and resistance at 0.9334, the high of November 21.
In a widely expected move, the RBA held its benchmark interest rate at a record low of 2.50%.
Commenting on the decision, RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said borrowing costs were likely to remain low for an extended period of time.
"The decline in the exchange rate from its highs a year ago will assist in achieving balanced growth in the economy, but less so than previously as a result of the rise over the past few months," Stevens added.
Meanwhile, data showed that China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for March rose to 50.3 from 50.2 in February. However, a separate report showed that China’s HSBC manufacturing PMI fell to 48, the weakest level in a year-and-a-half, from a final reading of 48.5 in February.
China is Australia's biggest export partner.
In the U.S., Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said that "considerable slack" still remained in the labor market and reiterated that the Fed’s commitment to economic stimulus will still be needed for some time.
The Aussie fractionally higher steady against the euro, with EUR/AUD edging down 0.09% to 1.4852.
Later in the day, the Institute of Supply Management was to publish a report on U.S. manufacturing growth.