Investing.com - The Australian and New Zealand dollars moved higher against their U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, following comments by Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler and as demand for the greenback weakened.
NZD/USD advanced 0.63% to 0.7319, the highest since August 11.
The New Zealand dollar strengthened after RBNZ Governor Wheeler said the bank’s current interest rate policy involves further monetary easing measures but he said he did not see the need for a rapid series of rate cuts.
AUD/USD rose 0.26% to trade at 0.7640, off Monday’s three-week low of 0.7580.
Meanwhile, the greenback came under pressure as investors grew more cautious ahead of this Friday’s speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
Market participants are hoping Ms. Yellen will give further indications on the timing of future rate hikes.
The U.S. dollar moved broadly higher after San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams late last week signaled support for a September rate increase.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.15% at 94.38.