Investing.com - The Australian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, while the New Zealand dollar slipped lower ahead of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s rate decision due the next day.
AUD/USD was steady at 0.7630.
The greenback remained supported after Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari said on Tuesday that the U.S. central bank should keep monetary policy moderately accommodative.
The comments came a day after Philly Fed President Patrick Harker said he would support hiking rates in March.
The dollar was also supported by data on Tuesday showing that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $44.3 billion in December, on the back of an increase in exports.
The report also showed that the U.S. trade deficit hit a four-year high in 2016, at $502.3 billion, up from $500.4 billion in 2015.
NZD/USD edged down 0.10% to trade at 0.7292, off Tuesday’s three-month peak of 0.7376.
The RBNZ was expected to leave interest rates on hold on Thursday, but market participants will be eyeing any indications on the central bank’s future policy moves.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.09% at 100.47, just off Tuesday’s one-week high of 100.69.