Investing.com - The Australian and New Zealand dollars moved higher against their U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, boosted by the release of upbeat data from both Australia and New Zealand, although hopes for a U.S. rate hike this summer continued to support the greenback.
AUD/USD climbed 0.86% to 0.7244, the highest since May 23.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday that building approvals increased by 3.0% in April, confounding expectations for a 3.0% drop. Building approvals rose by 2.9% in March, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 3.7% gain.
A separate report showed that Australia’s current account deficit narrowed to A$20.8 billion in the first quarter from A$22.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of A$21.1 billion.
Analysts had expected the current account deficit to narrow to A$19.5 billion in the last quarter.
NZD/USD gained 0.45% to trade at 0.6725.
Also Tuesday, data showed that the ANZ business confidence index for New Zealand climbed to 11.3 in May from a reading of 6.2 the previous month.
But the greenback remained supported after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Friday it would be appropriate for the central bank to raise rates “gradually and cautiously” in the coming months if the economy and the labor market continue to pick up as expected.
Market participants were eyeing a string of U.S. data due later in the day, including reports on personal spending and consumer confidence, for further indications on the strength of the economy.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 95.74, close to the previous session’s two-month peak of 95.96.