Investing.com - The Australian dollar slid lower against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, as demand for the greenback strengthened after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said interest rates could rise sooner than expected.
AUD/USD hit 0.9330 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since July 3; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9343, shedding 0.29%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9258, the low of June 5 and resistance at 0.9402, Tuesday's high.
The greenback remained supported after Ms. Yellen on Tuesday said interest rates could rise sooner if the labor market was to improve more quickly than expected. However, the Fed chair also said that if the economic recovery disappoints monetary policy would remain accommodative.
The remarks came during testimony to the Senate Banking Committee in Washington.
Ms. Yellen said the economy is continuing to improve but added that the recovery is not yet complete and reiterated that rates are likely to remain on hold for a considerable period after the bank’s quantitative easing program ends.
The Aussie was higher against the New Zealand dollar, with AUD/NZD gaining 0.54% to 1.0745.
Also Wednesday, official data showed that consumer price inflation in New Zealand remained unchanged at 0.3% in the second quarter, compared to expectations for an uptick to 0.4%.
On a yearly basis, New Zealand CPI rose to 1.6% from 1.5% a year earlier, compared to expectations for an increase to 1.8%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release reports on producer price inflation and industrial production.