Investing.com - The Australian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, despite the release of tepid Australian business confidence data, while the New Zealand dollar held steady, both hovering near 10-year highs as rising oil prices supported the commodity currencies.
AUD/USD added 0.18% to trade at 0.7809, not far from Wednesday 10-month peak of 0.7829.
The National Australia Bank reported on Thursday that its business confidence index ticked down to 4 in the first quarter from a reading of 5 in the three months to December, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated reading of 4.
NZD/USD was little changed at 0.6974, holding below Tuesday’s 10-month high of 0.7056.
The commodity currencies remained supported as oil prices rose to their highest level since November, after the U.S. reported on Wednesday a lower-than-expected rise in last week’s crude inventories.
Meanwhile, sentiment on the greenback became fragile as investors turned to upcoming reports on U.S. unemployment claims and manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area, due later in the day.
The U.S. dollar had strengthened after the U.S. National Association of Retailers said on Wednesday that existing home sales rose 5.1% in March to 5.33 million units in March, beating expectations for a 3.5% increase to 5.30 million units.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 94.51, the highest level since April 18.