Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar traded lower against its U.S. counterpart during Thursday’s Asian session following the release of a disappointing first-quarter GDP report.
In Asian trading Thursday, NZD/USD fell 0.21% to 0.7884. The pair violated support at 0.7949, Tuesday's low and resistance at 0.8100, the high of June 17.
Earlier Thursday, Statistics New Zealand said the country’s GDP grew 0.3% in the first quarter, well below the 0.6% economists expected. The first-quarter number was just a fifth of the 1.5% growth posted in the fourth quarter.
Analysts said a drought that hampered milk production was one of the culprits behind the slack report. New Zealand is a major exporter of milk powder to, among other nations, China.
The GDP report arrived a day after data showed that New Zealand's current account deficit narrowed to NZD0.66 billion in the first quarter from a deficit of NZD3.26 billion in the previous quarter, still disappointing expectations for an improvement to a NZD0.60 billion deficit.
The kiwi was also pressured by comments by the Federal Reserve. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested the U.S. central bank could begin scaling back its USD85 billion bond-buying program later this year and possibly end it next year provided the economy improves.
"The Committee sees the downside risks to the outlook for the economy and the labor market as having diminished since the fall," the Fed said in its statement.
"The Committee also anticipates that inflation over the medium term likely will run at or below its 2 percent objective."
Elsewhere, NZD/JPY dropped 0.27% to 76.01 while AUD/NZD rose 0.14% to 1.1791.
In Asian trading Thursday, NZD/USD fell 0.21% to 0.7884. The pair violated support at 0.7949, Tuesday's low and resistance at 0.8100, the high of June 17.
Earlier Thursday, Statistics New Zealand said the country’s GDP grew 0.3% in the first quarter, well below the 0.6% economists expected. The first-quarter number was just a fifth of the 1.5% growth posted in the fourth quarter.
Analysts said a drought that hampered milk production was one of the culprits behind the slack report. New Zealand is a major exporter of milk powder to, among other nations, China.
The GDP report arrived a day after data showed that New Zealand's current account deficit narrowed to NZD0.66 billion in the first quarter from a deficit of NZD3.26 billion in the previous quarter, still disappointing expectations for an improvement to a NZD0.60 billion deficit.
The kiwi was also pressured by comments by the Federal Reserve. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested the U.S. central bank could begin scaling back its USD85 billion bond-buying program later this year and possibly end it next year provided the economy improves.
"The Committee sees the downside risks to the outlook for the economy and the labor market as having diminished since the fall," the Fed said in its statement.
"The Committee also anticipates that inflation over the medium term likely will run at or below its 2 percent objective."
Elsewhere, NZD/JPY dropped 0.27% to 76.01 while AUD/NZD rose 0.14% to 1.1791.