Investing.com - The Australian dollar slipped lower against its U.S. counterpart on Friday, after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised its economic growth and inflation forecasts, while markets awaited the release of a highly anticipated U.S. employment report later in the trading session.
AUD/USD hit 0.8922 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since Wednesday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8946, edging down 0.15%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8788, the low of January 22 and resistance at 0.9054, the high of January 14.
Earlier in the day, the RBA said in its quarterly monetary policy statement that "over the past few months, there have been further signs that very stimulatory monetary policy is working to support economic activity.
The central bank projected core inflation of 2.25% to 3.25% through December 2014, a 0.25% increase compared to what was initially estimated three months earlier.
The RBA predidcted that gross domestic product will rise by 2.25% to 3.25% through December, "primarily owing to the lower exchange rate, which is expected to boost exports and restrain imports."
The statement came after the RBA on Tuesday left rates on hold at 2.5%, saying "the most prudent course is likely to be a period of stability in interest rates."
Meanwhile, the greenback remained under pressure ahead of highly anticipated U.S. employment data later in the trading session, which was expected to give more indications on the strength of the labor market's recovery.
On Thursday, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell by 20,000 to 331,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 351,000. Analysts had expected jobless claims to fall by 16,000.
The Aussie was lower against the euro, with EUR/AUD adding 0.13% to 1.5187.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate.