Investing.com - The Australian dollar was almost unchanged against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, after the release of tepid Australian economic reports as comments from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen continued to support the greenback.
AUD/USD hit 0.9382 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9369, inching up 0.01%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9330, Wednesday's low and resistance at 0.9424, the high of July 9.
In a report, the National Australia Bank said its business confidence index ticked down to 6 in the second quarter, from a reading of 7 in the first quarter, whose figure was upwardly revised from a previously estimated reading of 6.
In a addition, the Conference Board said its leading index for Australia rose by 0.2% in May, after a 0.2% fall in April, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 0.1% decline.
Meanwhile, demand for the greenback remained supported after Ms. Yellen said Tuesday that rates could rise sooner if the economic recovery continued to improve. However, the Fed chair also said that if the recovery was disappointing monetary policy would remain accommodative.
The Aussie was steady against the euro, with EUR/AUD dipping 0.01% to 1.4435.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish reports on initial jobless claims, housing starts, building permits, and the Philly Fed manufacturing index.