Investing.com - The Australian dollar rose against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, while the New Zealand dollar slipped lower as Friday’s upbeat U.S. data continued to lend support to the greenback.
AUD/USD rose 0.23% to trade at 0.7290, easing off Friday’s two-month low of 0.7250.
The greenback was boosted after the U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday that retail sales jumped 1.3% in April, topping economists’ expectations for a 0.8% increase. It was the largest monthly increase since March 2015.
In addition, the preliminary reading of the University of Michigan’s index of consumer sentiment came in at 95.8 in May, up from 89.0 in April and well ahead of expectations for a reading of 90.0. It was the highest reading since June 2015.
The upbeat data eased concerns over the outlook for the U.S. economy and rekindled expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates sooner than anticipated.
NZD/USD edged down 0.13% to 0.6775.
Investors were looing ahead to a report on manufacturing activity in the New York area, due later in the day, for further indications on the strength of the U.S. economy.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 94.57, near Friday’s three-week high of 94.84.