Investing.com - The Australian dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart in light trade on Monday, but gains were expected to remain capped as Friday's upbeat U.S. data continued to support demand for the greenback.
AUD/USD hit 0.9245 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9241, adding 0.11%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.9275, the low of May 1 and resistance at 0.9290, the high of May 5.
The greenback found support after data on new home sales on Friday added to signs of a recovery in the housing market.
The Commerce Department reported that sales of new homes rose by a larger-than-expected 6.4% to 433,000 in April, after two months of decline. Analysts had been expecting a figure of 425,000. March's number was revised up from 384,000 to 407,000.
The Aussie was higher against the New Zealand dollar, with AUD/NZD rising 0.27 to 1.0822.
Also Monday, official data showed that New Zealand's trade surplus narrowed to NZ$534 million in April, from NZ$920 million the previous month. Analysts had expected the trade surplus to narrow to NZ$667 million last month.
Trade volumes were expected to remain thin on Monday with U.K. markets closed for a public holiday and markets in the U.S. remaining shut for the Memorial Day holiday.