Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar slid lower against the broadly stronger U.S. dollar on Wednesday, despite stronger than expected domestic jobs data as a Republican victory in U.S. mid-term elections boosted the greenback.
NZD/USD was last down 0.31% to 0.7786, off the highs of 0.7842 struck overnight.
The kiwi was boosted after Statistics New Zealand reported that the unemployment rate fell to 5.4% in the third quarter from 5.6% in the three months to June. It was the lowest rate since March 2009 and was in line with forecasts.
Employment grew 0.8 %, ahead of forecasts of 0.6%, to 2.35 million people, and was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis.
The kiwi subsequently turned lower after results of the U.S. mid-term elections showed that the Republican Party won control of the Senate, raising hopes for an end to political deadlock in Washington.
Elsewhere, data on Wednesday showed that activity in China’s service sector slowed to its lowest in three months in October, adding to signs of a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.
China’s HSBC services index came in at 52.9, down from 53.5 in September and below forecasts of 53.9.
The kiwi was higher against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD down 0.20% to 1.1163.