Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, but gains were expected to remain limited as demand for the greenback remained broadly supported by expectations for a U.S. rate hike this year.
NZD/USD hit 0.7802 during late Asian trade, the pair's highest since Tuesday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7800, adding 0.26%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7711, Wednesday's low and resistance at 0.7855, the high of December 31.
The greenback continued to be underpinned after a report on Wednesday showed that the U.S. private sector added a larger-then-forecast 241,000 jobs in December.
The upbeat data boosted the outlook for the U.S. recovery and raised expectations for a strong reading of the government nonfarm payrolls due on Friday.
On Wednesday, the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s December meeting did little to alter expectations that U.S. interest rates will start to rise later this year.
The kiwi was higher agains the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD edging up 0.11% to 1.0390.
Also Thursday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that building approvals increased by 7.5% in November, confounding expectations for a 3.5% decline. Building approvals rose by 11.5% in October, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 11.4% gain.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce its weekly report on initial jobless claims.