Investing.com - The Australian dollar was steady against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, after upbeat Australian data on company operating profits but gains were capped as expectations for a December rate hike in the U.S. continued to support the greenback.
AUD/USD hit 0.7196 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7193.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7156, the low of November 23 and resistance at 0.7264, the high of November 26.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Monday that company operating profits increased by 1.3% in the third quarter, beating expectations for a 1.0% gain. Company operating profits fell 0.5% in the second quarter, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 1.9% drop.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained supported after a string of upbeat U.S. data released over the week added to expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month.
The Aussie was lower against the New Zealand dollar, with AUD/NZD sliding 0.29% to 1.1009.
Earlier Monday, data showed that the ANZ business confidence index for New Zealand rose to 14.6 in November from 10.5 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to climb to 15.0 this month.