Investing.com - The Australian dollar was steady against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, as concerns over the handling of Spain’s financial crisis continued to weigh on market sentiment while Tuesday’s upbeat U.S. manufacturing data lent support to the greenback.
AUD/USD hit 1.0355 during late Asian trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0333, inching up 0.01%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0296, the low of April 12 and resistance at 1.0383, the high if April 23.
The greenback remained supported after the Institute for Supply Management said Tuesday that its index of manufacturing activity rose to 54.8 from 53.4 in March, defying expectations for a decline to 53.0.
The robust data offset concerns that the economic recovery in the U.S. is losing momentum in the wake of a string of recent disappointing data and dampened speculation over the possibility of a third round of easing by the Federal Reserve.
Investors remained cautious ahead of weekend elections in Greece and France and the European Central Bank’s policy meeting on Thursday.
On Tuesday, the Aussie came under broad selling pressure after the Reserve Bank of Australia surprised markets with a larger-than-expected interest rate cut to 3.75%, its lowest level since early 2010, in an attempt to boost the nation's commodity-linked economy.
Elsewhere, the Aussie was higher against the euro with EUR/AUD shedding 0.18%, to hit 1.2786.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce a report on non-farm employment change, followed by government data on factory orders and crude oil stockpiles.
AUD/USD hit 1.0355 during late Asian trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0333, inching up 0.01%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0296, the low of April 12 and resistance at 1.0383, the high if April 23.
The greenback remained supported after the Institute for Supply Management said Tuesday that its index of manufacturing activity rose to 54.8 from 53.4 in March, defying expectations for a decline to 53.0.
The robust data offset concerns that the economic recovery in the U.S. is losing momentum in the wake of a string of recent disappointing data and dampened speculation over the possibility of a third round of easing by the Federal Reserve.
Investors remained cautious ahead of weekend elections in Greece and France and the European Central Bank’s policy meeting on Thursday.
On Tuesday, the Aussie came under broad selling pressure after the Reserve Bank of Australia surprised markets with a larger-than-expected interest rate cut to 3.75%, its lowest level since early 2010, in an attempt to boost the nation's commodity-linked economy.
Elsewhere, the Aussie was higher against the euro with EUR/AUD shedding 0.18%, to hit 1.2786.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce a report on non-farm employment change, followed by government data on factory orders and crude oil stockpiles.