Investing.com - The Australian dollar edged lower against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, after the release of downbeat Australian data, while the New Zealand dollar moved higher after the minuntes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting.
AUD/USD eased 0.09% to 0.7694.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics earlier reported that private capital expenditure fell 2.1% in the fourth quarter, compared to expectations for a 0.5% slip. Private capital expenditure declined 3.3% in the third quarter of 2016, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 4.0% drop.
NZD/USD added 0.19% to trade at 0.7204, the highest since February 20.
Late Wednesday, the minutes of the Fed’s January policy meeting showed that policymakers thought it may be appropriate to raise interest rates again "fairly soon."
However, the minutes also revealed the central bank’s uncertainty over the lack of clarity of the Trump administration's economic program, which limited the greenback’s gains.
The minutes came after Fed Chair Janet Yellen said last week that a rate increase would be appropriate at one of the Fed’s forthcoming meetings.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 101.38, off the previous session’s one-week high of 101.72.