Forex - AUD/USD off 5-month low, focus remains on Greece

Investing.com - The Australian dollar rose against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, pulling away from a five-month low but sentiment remained vulnerable amid fears that a potential Greek exit from the euro zone could do further damage to the region.

AUD/USD hit 0.9964 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9937, rising 0.25%.

The pair was likely to find support at 0.9869, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 1.0014, the high of May 15.

Investors remained cautious as fears escalated over the effects of a possible Greek exit from the euro zone on other ailing nations such as Italy and Spain.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Wednesday that Greece's exit could undermine confidence in the euro area and trigger another liquidity crisis.

Meanwhile, the greenback came under pressure after Federal Reserve policymakers said they are open to further efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy if growth falters or threats escalate.

The minutes of the central bank's April 24-25 meeting released Wednesday stated that "several members" thought additional Fed support could be needed if the recovery lost momentum or if the risks to the economy became great enough.

In Australia, a report by the Melbourne Institute showed earlier that inflation expectations fell to 3.1% in April from 3.3% the previous month.

Elsewhere, the Aussie was higher against the New Zealand dollar with AUD/NZD adding 0.11%, to hit 1.2983.

Also Thursday, official data showed that producer price inflation input in New Zealand rose unexpectedly in the first quarter, ticking up 0.3% after a 0.5% rise the previous quarter. Analysts had expected producer price inflation input to be flat in the first quarter.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce government data on unemployment claims, followed by a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.