Investing.com - The Australian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, after the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest policy meeting, while the New Zealand dollar lost ground after disappointing retail sales data.
AUD/USD edged up 0.17% to 0.7151.
In the minutes of its February policy meeting, the RBA said that record-low interest rates are helping consumer spending and house building while a lower currency is improving firms' competitiveness.
NZD/USD dropped 0.80% to trade at 0.6594.
Earlier Tuesday, Statistics New Zealand said that retail sales increased by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, compared to expectations for a 1.4% rise. Retail sales gained 1.5% in the third quarter, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 1.6% increase.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles and gas stations, rose 1.4% in the last quarter, exceeding expectations for a 1.1% gain. Core retail sales increased by 1.1% in the third quarter, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 1.0% rise.
Separately, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand said its inflation expectations for the next two years ticked down to 1.6% in the fourth quarter, from 1.9% in the three months to December.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.12% at 96.63.