Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, but remained close to a 15-month trough as demand for the greenback remained supported by strong U.S. data and markets eyed upcoming reports on employment in New Zealand.
NZD/USD hit 0.7760 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7734, edging up 0.19%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7699 and resistance at 0.7865, the high of October 30.
Demand for the greenback remained supported after the Insitute of Supply Management reported on Monday that its manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 59.0 this month from 56.6 in September. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 56.2 in October.
The kiwi was lower against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD adding 0.25% to 1.1270.
Also Tuesday, official data showed that retail sales in Australia increased by 1.2% in September, beating expectations for a 0.4% rise, after an uptick of 0.1% the previous month.
A separate report showed that Australia's trade deficit widened to A$2.26 billion in September from A$1.01 billion in August, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of A$0.79 billion.
Analysts had expected the trade deficit to widen to A$1.95 billion in September.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Australia held its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 2.50%, in a widely expected move.
Commenting on the decision, RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said the currency "remains above most estimates of its fundamental value."
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release trade balance data.