Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, hovering close to a two-month peak as sentiment on the greenback remained fragile, although downbeat Chinese manufacturing activity data capped gains.
NZD/USD hit 0.7676 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7658, adding 0.12%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7545, Monday's low and resistance at 0.7712, the high of January 21.
The greenback remained under pressure amid uncertainty over the path of U.S. monetary policy after the Federal Reserve downgraded its forecasts for growth and inflation and lowered its interest rate projections last week.
Elsewhere, data earlier showed Chinese manufacturing activity swung into contraction territory this month, as the HSBC (LONDON:HSBA) Flash Manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index fell to an 11-month low of 49.2 from a reading of 50.7 in February, compared to expectations for a downtick to 50.6.
China is New Zealand's second biggest export partner.
The kiwi was higher against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD shedding 0.26% to 1.0270.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release reports on consumer inflation and new home sales.