Investing.com - The Australian dollar held steady against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, while the New Zealand dollar gained some ground as investors digested the previous session’s mixed U.S. economic reports and awaited a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later in the day.
AUD/USD was little changed at 0.7545.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Monday that personal spending edged up 0.1% in February, in line with economists’ expectations.
Personal income rose by 0.2%, above forecasts for a 0.1% gain.
Inflation as measured by the PCE index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, dipped 0.1% last month, due in large part to lower energy costs.
The PCE index rose just 1% on a year-over-year basis, slowing from 1.2% in January.
The data indicated that the Fed may raise interest rates only gradually this year, despite the tightening labor market.
Investors were looking ahead to a speech by Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Tuesday for fresh indications on the path of interest rates.
NZD/USD rose 0.28% to trade at 0.6743.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.10% at 96.09, not far from Monday’s one-week high of 96.42.