Investing.com - The Australian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, after upbeat Australian motor vehicle sales data, while investors locked in profits on the greenback's recent multi-year rally.
AUD/USD hit 0.7659 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7652, rising 0.22%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7558, the low of March 11 and a six-year low and resistance at 0.7730, the high of March 12.
In a report, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that new motor vehicle sales rose 2.9% last month, after a 1.5% decline in January.
The greenback had strengthened broadly on Friday after downbeat U.S. data dampened optimism over the strength of the economy, weighing on market sentiment.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported that producer prices fell 0.5% last month, confounding expectations for a 0.3% gain, after a 0.8% decline in January.
Separately, the University of Michigan said that its consumer sentiment index fell to a four-month low of 91.2 this month from 95.4 in February, disappointing expectations for a rise to 95.5.
Market participants were now eyeing Wednesday’s Federal Reserve statement to see if it would drop its reference to being patient before raising rates and signal that it is ready to hike rates depending on economic data.
The Aussie was lower against the euro, with EUR/AUD adding 0.18% to 1.3765.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce reports on industrial production and manufacturing activity in the New York region, as well as private sector data on the housing market.