Aussie steals kiwi's thunder amid data-deficient day

A dull start to the week on the economic agenda saw the Australian dollar move up against its New Zealand peer, but each of the currencies trades lower against the greenback amid growing US rate-hike speculation.

The AUD/NZD rose 0.44% to $1.1039 on Monday morning in Sydney from $1.0991 where the pair closed in New York on Friday evening. Australia's currency was trading a little down against the US dollar at $0.7017 from $0.7020, while the New Zealand dollar fell 0.14% against the greenback to $0.6368 from $0.6376.

Monday's data highlight will come during the US session when the Bureau of Economic Analysis is due to release the Core PCE price index for August, which is expected to have grown 0.1% month-on-month. The PCE index is widely accepted as the Federal Reserve's (Fed) preferred inflation gauge. A higher-than-expected core PCE inflation reading would add to speculation that the Fed will lift-off in October.

Fed New York President William Dudley is due to speak during the US session, which will shed more light on the Fed's monetary policy stance. Since last week a number of Fed officials have spoken on monetary policy, most of which have suggested that a hike is still likely during 2015. On September 17 the Fed decided to keep interest rates on hold at near zero levels.

The only economic indicator from New Zealand on Monday was the Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index for the September quarter, which came in at 99.3, its lowest in three years, down from 102.8 in the June quarter. A figure above 100 signals confidence, while a reading below 100 indicates pessimism.

AUDNZD is currently trading at 1.0985. It made intraday high at 1.1042 and low at 1.0982 levels.