Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar dropped against its U.S. counterparts on Tuesday, after mixed economic reports from New Zealand and as demand for the greenback continued to be underpinned by hopes for a near-term U.S. rate hike.
NZD/USD hit 0.7472 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since March 20; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7485, slipping 0.26%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7394, the low from March 20 and resistance at 0.7570, Monday's high.
Data earlier showed that the ANZ business confidence index for New Zealand rose to 35.8 this month from a reading of 34.4 in February.
A separate report showed that New Zealand's building consents declined 6.3% in February after a 4.6% fall in January, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 3.8% slip.
The greenback was boosted on Monday after the U.S. National Association of Realtors said pending home sales rose 3.1% last month, easily surpassing expectations for a 0.4% gain.
The data came after the U.S. Commerce Department said that personal spending inched up 0.1% last month, while personal income rose 0.4% in February, above forecasts for a 0.3% increase.
The U.S. dollar also remained supported after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said in a speech on Friday that a rate hike may be warranted later this year, but added that weakening inflation pressures could force the Fed to delay.
The kiwi was higher against the euro, with EUR/NZD shedding 0.21% to 1.4410.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on consumer confidence.