Investing.com - The Australian moved higher against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, helped by the release of positive Australian data, while the New Zealand dollar held steady following comments by Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler.
AUD/USD rose 0.34% to 0.7979, just off a four-week high of 0.7996 overnight.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics earlier reported that building approvals declined by only 1.7% in July, compared to expectations for a 5.0% drop. Building approvals were revised to a 11.7% climb in June, up from a previously estimated 10.9% increase.
A separate report showed that construction work done in Australia increased by 9.3% in the second quarter, beating expectations for a 1.0% gain.
NZD/USD was little changed at 0.7255.
The kiwi weakened after RBNZ Governor Wheeler said that a lower New Zealand dollar was needed to help boost the export sector and inflation.
Wheeler was giving a speech titled "Reflections on the stewardship of the Reserve Bank" as he prepares to steps down on September 26.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar recovered moderately from the previous session's losses as concerns over a North-Korean missile test over Japan's northern island of Hokkaido receded.
But sentiment on the greenback remained vulnerable after Federal Reserve Janet Yellen gave no new indications last week on the future path of U.S. rate hikes.
Market participants were also monitoring developments in Texas, as flooding due to Tropical Storm Harvey has shut nearly a fifth of U.S. oil-refining capacity.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 92.32 by 02:10 a.m. ET (06:10 GMT), off the previous session's two-and-a-half year trough of 91.55.