Investing.com - The Australian dollar edged lower against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, pulling away from a three-week peak as markets were jittery ahead of the Federak Reserve's highly anticipated policy statement due later in the day.
AUD/USD hit 0.7178 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7186, falling 0.17%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7120, Wednesday's low and resistance at 0.7253, the high of August 25.
Investors remained cautious amid uncertainty over whether the Fed would hike short term interest rates for the first time in almost a decade on Thursday.
An increase in interest rates would boost the greenback by making it more attractive to yield-seeking investors.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said that an interest rate increase is data dependent but has also indicated that she expects to begin raising rates before the end of the year.
Data on Wednesday showed that U.S. consumer prices edged down by 0.1% last month, in line with forecasts following a 0.1% increase in July, while core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy costs, increased by 0.1%, also in line with the consensus forecast.
The Aussie was steady against the New Zealand dollar, with AUD/NZD at 1.1308.
Earlier Thursday, Statistics New Zealand reported that the country's gross domestic product rose 0.4% in the second quarter, confounding expectations for a 0.5% increase and after a growth rate of 0.2% in the three months to March.
On a yearly basis, New Zealand's GDP increased by 2.4% in the second quarter, below expectations for a 2.5% gain and down from a growth rate of 2.6% in the first quarter.