Investing.com - The Australian dollar was steady against its U.S. counterpart in subdued trade on Tuesday, as expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue tapering its stimulus program at next week’s policy meeting continued to support the greenback.
AUD/USD hit 0.8838 during late Asian trade, the pair's highest since January 16; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8805, inching down 0.06%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8757, Monday's low and a three-year low and resistance at 0.8906, the high of January 16.
Demand for the greenback remained supported by expectations for a reduction to the Fed’s quantitative easing program at the outcome of its next policy meeting on January 29 to USD65 billion from the current USD75 billion.
The Aussie was little changed against the New Zealand dollar, with AUD/NZD easing 0.01% to 1.0587.
In New Zealand, data earlier showed that consumer price inflation ticked up 0.01% in the fourth quarter, compared to expectations for a flat reading, after a 0.9% rise in the three months to September.