Investing.com - The Australian and New Zealand dollars moved higher against their U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, as market participants were looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting, due to begin later in the day.
AUD/USD rose 0.24% to 0.7977.
The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged this week. However the U.S. central bank could give indications on when it plans to begin unwinding its balance sheet, as well as on any future interest rate decisions.
Investors were also eyeing U.S. data on building permits and housing starts due later Tuesday, for further indications on the health of the housing market.
Earlier in the day, the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's September meeting showed that policymakers remained favorable to low interest rates, saying that they allowed the economy to continue to strengthen.
The central bank also cautioned against the current strength of the Australian dollar, saying its “appreciation over recent months, driven in part by a broad depreciation of the U.S. dollar, was weighing on domestic growth” and that a further appreciation could “result in a slower pick-up in growth and inflation.”
NZD/USD advanced 0.44% to trade at 0.7290.
Meanwhile, concerns over tensions between the U.S. and North Korea remained subdued, although they were susceptible to pick up at any moment.
U.S. President Donald Trump was set to address the United Nations for the first time this week and Pyongyang was widely expected to be on the agenda.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.21%at 91.61 by 02:15 a.m. ET (06:15 GMT), just off a one-week low of 91.57 hit overnight.