SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - The Australian dollar traded near one-month lows on Wednesday after upbeat U.S. data added to the risk of a near-term rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
The Australian dollar AUD=D4 held at $0.7521, after touching $0.7500 on Tuesday, its lowest since Aug.2.
The Aussie has been on a downtrend since hitting a near 3-1/2 month high of $0.7760 earlier in August. It is now trading below a key support of around $0.7530, and could hit $0.7450, a level last visited on July 27.
"The Australian dollar is near the bottom of the FX leader board, a fairly typical occurrence during episodes of broad-based US dollar strength," said Ray Attrill, global co-head of FX strategy at National Australia Bank.
The greenback received a boost on Tuesday after the Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to an 11-month high in August. Other data showed that house price growth moderated in June but still remaining strong. ECONUS
The upbeat news followed Fed Chair Janet Yellen's comment last week that the case for a rate increase was strengthening.
ADP employment data and the Chicago purchasing managers' index (PMI) due later on Wednesday will help refine forecasts for the key August non-farm payrolls report on Friday.
In Australia, the focus will be on capital expenditure and retail sales numbers - both market sensitive releases - due on Thursday. ECONAU
The New Zealand dollar NZD=D4 was holding up better than its antipodean cousin, rising to $0.7244, from $0.7217.
The Kiwi found support from upbeat business confidence data.
The private survey by ANZ bank showed that although business sentiment had slipped slightly in August, firms' outlook for their own activity had risen. Kiwi also gained against the Aussie, which slipped over half a cent to a seven-week trough of NZ$1.0376 AUDNZD=R and broke chart support at NZ$1.0400 in the process.
"That level has represented an area of technical resistance to the kiwi since early June so it might be tough going to push higher over the near term," said BNZ currency strategist Jason Wong.
Australian government bond futures were mixed, with the three-year bond contract YTTc1 up 1 tick at 98.62. The 10-year contract YTCc1 was unchanged at 98.1500.