Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, pulling away from a recent five-year trough as weaker expectations for a U.S. rate hike in the coming months continued to weigh broadly on demand for the greenback.
NZD/USD hit 0.6930 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.6923, adding 0.19%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.6873, the low og June 17 and a five-year low and resistance at 0.6996, the high of June 18.
The greenback remained under pressure after the Federal Reserve's rate statement last week tempered expectations for a rate hike later this year.
The Fed lowered both its U.S. growth forecast and its interest-rate projections, prompting investors to push back expectations on the timing of an initial rate hike.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the central bank wanted to see "more decisive evidence" of sustained growth before raising rates, but acknowledged that the economy has "expanded moderately" after a weak first quarter.
The New Zealand dollar hit five-year lows against the greenback last Thursday after data showed that the country's gross domestic product rose by 0.2% in the first quarter, confounding expectations for an increase of 0.6%.
Year-on-year, New Zealand GDP rose by 2.6% in the three months to March, less than the expected 3.0% increase.
The kiwi was lower against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD edging up 0.10% to 1.1255.
Sentiment on the single currency remained fragile as a deadlock between Athens and its international lenders continued ahead of the approaching deadline for Greece’s repayments to the International Monetary Fund at the end of the month.
A default by Greece could lead to the country’s exit from the euro zone.