Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, as Tuesday's disappointing U.S. data continued to weigh on demand for the greenback, while markets eyed the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting.
NZD/USD hit 0.8381 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8316, adding 0.10%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8257, the low of February 10 and resistance at 0.8358, the high of February 13.
The greenback remained under pressure after data on Tuesday showed that the Empire State manufacturing index fell more-than-expected in February as new orders dropped.
A separate report showed foreign investors sold almost $120 billion of U.S. assets in December.
Investors were looking ahead to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January meeting later in the trading day, when the bank voted to cut its stimulus program by another $10 billion to $65 billion per month.
Earlier this month, Fed Chair Janet Yellen indicated that the central bank is on track to maintain the pace of reductions to its stimulus program, as long as the economy continues to improve as expected.
The kiwi was higher against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD falling 0.18% to 1.0847.
Also Wednesday, the Conference Board earlier said that its leading index for Australia rose 0.8% in December, after a 0.2% gain the previous month.
Data also showed that Australia's wage price index rose 0.7% in the fourth quarter, slightly above expectations for a 0.6% rise, after a 0.5% increase in the three months to September.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish reports on building permits, housing starts and producer price inflation. In addition, the Federal Reserve was to publish the minutes of its most recent policy setting meeting.