Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar was almost unchanged against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, after the release of disappointing business confidence data from New Zealand and as the greenback's recent rally paused.
NZD/USD hit 0.7854 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7846, easing up 0.06%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7712, Monday's low and resistance at 0.7926, the high of October 2.
Earlier Tuesday, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research reported that its business confidence index fell to 19 in the third quarter from a reading of 32 in the three months to June.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained supported after the Labor Department reported on Friday that the U.S. economy added 248,000 jobs in September, well ahead of forecasts for jobs growth of 215,000. The unemployment rate ticked down from 6.0% to 5.9%, the lowest level since July 2008.
The data added to the view that the strengthening economic recovery may prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than markets are expecting.
The kiwi was lower against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD rising 0.29% to 1.1207.
Also Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia held its benchmark interest rate at 2.50% in a widely expected move and said the decline in the nation's currency was insufficient to spur growth.
"The exchange rate has declined recently, in large part reflecting the strengthening U.S. dollar, but remains high by historical standards," RBA Chairman Glenn Stevens said.