Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, as disappointing U.S. manufacturing data on Monday weighed on the greenback, while markets eyed additional U.S. economic reports to be released later in the day.
NZD/USD hit 0.8564 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8556, adding 0.12%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8502, the low of March 20 and resistance at 0.8636, the high of March 19.
Demand for the greenback remained under pressure after a report on Monday showed that the preliminary reading of the Markit U.S. manufacturing index came in at 55.5 in March, down from 57.1 in February.
The data indicated that the U.S. economy is still struggling to gain traction in the wake of a weather induced slowdown.
Meanwhile, sentiment on the New Zealand dollar was still vulnerable after a report on Monday showed that Chinese manufacturing activity deteriorated for a third successive month in March.
China is New Zealand's second biggest export partner.
The kiwi was higher against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD slipping 0.10% to 1.0675.
Also Tuesday, Reserve Bank of Australia Deputy Governor Philip Lowe said that a weaker exchange rate is important for Australia's economy.
Asked whether he thinks an Australian dollar above $0.9100 is too high, Lowe answered that "if the exchange rate has to continue playing the stabilizing role, it would need to come down in time."
Lowe made the comments at the Q&A session following his speech at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission forum titled "Opportunities and Challenges for Market-based Financing."
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release report on house price inflation and consumer confidence, as well as official data on new home sales.