Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar dropped to one-week lows on Wednesday, after the release of downbeat New Zealand trade balance data, while uncertainty over the future of the Federal Reserve's stimulus program persisted.
NZD/USD hit 0.8222 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since September 18; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8227, retreating 0.66%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8159, the low of September 17 and resistance at 0.8360, Tuesday's high.
Official data showed that New Zealand's trade deficit widened unexpectedly to NZD1,191 million in August, from a deficit of NZD774 million the previous month. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to narrow to NZD743 million last month.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious amid uncertainty over the future direction of U.S. monetary policy after New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley defended last week’s decision by the Fed to keep its stimulus program on track.
Speaking Monday, Dudley said the pace of the U.S. economic recovery remains insufficient to start tapering the bank’s USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.
The Fed said last week that it wanted to see more evidence of a sustained economic recovery before it adjusted the scale of its bond buying program. The decision surprised markets, which had been expecting a modest reduction to the bank’s stimulus program.
The kiwi was lower against the euro with EUR/NZD climbing 0.63%, to hit 1.6373.
Later in the day, the U.S. is to release data on durable goods orders, a leading indicator of production, in addition to a report on new home sales.
NZD/USD hit 0.8222 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since September 18; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8227, retreating 0.66%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8159, the low of September 17 and resistance at 0.8360, Tuesday's high.
Official data showed that New Zealand's trade deficit widened unexpectedly to NZD1,191 million in August, from a deficit of NZD774 million the previous month. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to narrow to NZD743 million last month.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious amid uncertainty over the future direction of U.S. monetary policy after New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley defended last week’s decision by the Fed to keep its stimulus program on track.
Speaking Monday, Dudley said the pace of the U.S. economic recovery remains insufficient to start tapering the bank’s USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.
The Fed said last week that it wanted to see more evidence of a sustained economic recovery before it adjusted the scale of its bond buying program. The decision surprised markets, which had been expecting a modest reduction to the bank’s stimulus program.
The kiwi was lower against the euro with EUR/NZD climbing 0.63%, to hit 1.6373.
Later in the day, the U.S. is to release data on durable goods orders, a leading indicator of production, in addition to a report on new home sales.