Aussie, kiwi higher against broadly weaker greenback

Thursday,   29-Jun-2017   12:43 PM (IST)

The Australian and New Zealand dollars were higher on Thursday, as sentiment on the greenback remained vulnerable amid U.S. political concerns and after upbeat New Zealand business confidence data. AUD/USD gained 0.33% to 0.7664, the highest since March 30. The greenback remained under pressure after U.S. Senate Republicans postponed a vote on the Trump administration’s healthcare bill on Tuesday, as they faced resistance from party members. Investors are concerned that the administration will not be able to implement tax cuts and fiscal stimulus steps, without first getting the healthcare bill passed. Meanwhile, market participants were looking ahead to reports on U.S. first-quarter growth and unemployment claims due later in the day, for further indications on the strength of the economy. NZD/USD added 0.12% to trade at 0.7314, just off Tuesday’s four-month peak of 0.7344. Data earlier showed that New Zealand’s ANZ Business Confidence index rose to 24.8 in June from 14.9 the previous month. 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 a fresh eight-month low of 95.58.