Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar ended Friday’s session close to a three-year high against its U.S. counterpart, amid indications the Federal Reserve is in no rush to raise interest rates.
NZD/USD hit 0.8835 on Thursday, the pair’s highest since August 1, 2011, before subsequently consolidating at 0.8816 by close of trade on Friday, down 0.07% for the day but 0.86% higher for the week.
The pair is likely to find support at 0.8780, the low from July 9 and resistance at 0.8835, the high from July 10.
The U.S. dollar came under pressure after Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting indicated that interest rates are unlikely to rise soon.
The minutes showed that officials agreed to end the central bank’s asset purchase program in October, but revealed little new information on when rates could start to increase.
Meanwhile, the kiwi was boosted after ratings agency Fitch raised New Zealand’s credit outlook to positive from stable on Tuesday and reaffirmed the country's AA rating.
In the week ahead, investors will be watching testimony on monetary policy by Fed Chair Janet Yellen, as well as key data on U.S. June retail sales.
Market players will also look ahead to a raft of Chinese economic data this week, including reports on second quarter gross domestic product, industrial production and retail sales.
Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of these and other significant events likely to affect the markets. The guide skips Monday as there are no relevant events on this day.
Tuesday, July 15
The U.S. is to release data on retail sales, the government measure of consumer spending, which accounts for the majority of overall economic activity. The U.S. is also to release data on import prices, business inventories and manufacturing activity in the Empire state.
Wednesday, July 16
New Zealand is to release data on consumer inflation.
China is to publish data on gross domestic product, the broadest indicator of economic activity and the leading measure of the economy’s health. The country is also to publish reports on industrial production and fixed asset investment.
The U.S. is to release reports on producer price inflation and industrial production. Meanwhile, Fed Chair Janet Yellen Carney is to testify on monetary policy to the House financial committee.
Thursday, July 17
The U.S. to publish reports on initial jobless claims, housing starts, building permits, and the Philly Fed manufacturing index.
Friday, July 18
The U.S. is to round up the week with preliminary data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment.