Investing.com - The Australian and New Zealand dollars edged higher against their U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, as the greenback turned broadly lower amid profit-taking following its recent rally to a nearly one-year high against other majors.
AUD/USD added 0.16% to 0.7567.
The dollar strengthened broadly amid hopes that increased fiscal spending and tax cuts under a Trump administration will bolster economic growth and inflation.
Expectations for higher U.S. interest rates also remained intact amid optimism that a pick-up in growth will allow the Federal Reserve to tighten borrowing costs.
Earlier Tuesday, the minutes of the the Reserve bank of Australia’s November meeting mentioned that underlying inflation is expected to return to normal levels over time and that the Australian economy is seen growing close to potential over the next few quarters, before picking up further.
NZD/USD edged up 0.13% to trade at 0.7125, off the previous session’s one-month low of 0.7064.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.25% at 99.77, just off Monday’s 11-month peak of 100.24.