Investing.com - The Australian dollar held steady against their U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, while the New Zealand dollar moved higher as sentiment on the greenback became more vulnerable and as higher oil prices supported the commodity currencies.
AUD/USD edged up 0.08% to 0.7672, close to the previous session’s two-week high of 0.7692.
Investors remained cautious after the U.S. Commerce Department said the consumer price index rose 0.3% in September, in line with expectations.
Year-on-year, consumer prices increased 1.5% last month, also in line with forecasts. That was its highest reading since October 2014.
Sentiment on the U.S. dollar was also fragile after Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said on Monday that economic stability could be threatened by low interest rates, but it was "not that simple" for the Fed to raise rates.
NZD/USD gained 0.25% to trade at 0.7206, the highest since October 4.
The commodity currencies benefited from rising oil prices on Wednesday, after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in a statement that a planned production cut was achievable.
Market sentiment was also boosted by data on Wednesday showing that China’s gross domestic product rose 1.8% in the third quarter, in line with expectations.
Year-on-year, China’s economy grew 6.7% in the last quarter, also in line with market expectations.
China is Australia’s biggest export partner and New Zealand’s second biggest export partner.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 97.90, still close to Monday’s seven-month high of 98.15.