Investing.com - The Australian dollar rose against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, boosted by upbeat Australian economic growth data, while the New Zealand dollar was little changed ahead of a report on U.S. private sector employment.
AUD/USD gained 0.78% to 0.7230.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said that gross domestic product grew 0.6% in the fourth quarter, beating expectations for 0.4%. The economy grew 1.1% in the third quarter, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated growth rate of 0.9%.
Year-on-year, Australia’s economy grew 3.0% in the last quarter, above expectations for 2.5%.
NZD/USD held steady at 0.6624.
The greenback remained supported after the Institute for Supply Management said on Tuesday that its index of purchasing managers inched up to 49.5 last month from a reading of 48.2 in January. Analysts had expected the manufacturing PMI to rise to 48.5 in February.
Investors were eyeing the monthly ADP employment report for further indications on the strength of the job market.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.11% at 98.46, just below the previous session’s one-month high of 98.59.