Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar edged lower against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, weighed by downbeat data out of China and as sentiment weakened amid growing tensions between Ukraine and Russia.
NZD/USD hit 0.8344 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since February 27; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8368, slipping 0.19%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8293, the low of February 27 and resistance at 0.8426, the high of February 28.
Official data on Saturday showed that China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to an eight-month low in February, adding to fears over a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.
China is New Zealand's biggest export partner.
Meanwhile, market sentiment weakened amid mounting geopolitical tensions after Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Sunday that his country was "on the brink of disaster" after Russia's parliament authorized President Vladimir Putin touse military force in Ukraine.
The kiwi was lower against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD adding 0.23% to 1.0673.
Also Monday, industry data showed that new home sales in Australia rose 0.5% in January, after a 0.4% decline the previous month.
A separate report showed that job advertisements in Australia increased by 5.1% in February, after a flat reading in January, whose figure was revised up from a previously estimated 0.3% fall.
Data also showed that company operating profits in Australia rose 1.7% in the fourth quarter, less than the expected 2% increase. In the three months to September, company operating profits were revised were revised up to a 4.3% gain from a previously estimated 3.9% rise.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on personal spending, while the Institute of Supply Management was to release data on manufacturing activity.