Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar dropped against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, despite the release of strong business confidence from New Zealand, as downbeat Chinese economic growth data weighed.
NZD/USD hit 0.7709 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since January 15; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7723, declining 0.76%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7688, the low of January 14 and resistance at 0.7810, Monday's high.
Earlier Tuesday, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research said its business confidence index rose to 23 in the fourth quarter from a reading of 19 in the three months to September.
But the kiwi weakened after data showed that China's gross domestic product rose 1.5% in the last quarter, disappointing expectations for a growth rate of 1.7% and down from 1.9% in the third quarter.
China is New Zealand's second biggest export partner.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained broadly supported after the Swiss National Bank shocked markets last Thursday by abandoning its three-year old 1.20 per euro exchange rate cap.
The kiwi was also lower against the euro, with EUR/NZD gaining 0.68% to 1.5014.