Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar fell against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, as risk sentiment remained broadly weaker amid falling oil prices and uncertainty over the Federal Reserve's next policy statement.
NZD/USD hit 0.7731 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since December 10; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7757, edging down 0.26%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7659, the low of December 10 and resistance at 0.7850, the high of December 12.
Investor confidence was hit amid concerns over the economic impact of the continuing rout in oil prices and its effect on energy companies.
Markets were also jittery ahead of the Fed's upcoming policy meeting, as ongoing speculation over the prospects for a U.S. rate hike next year fuelled expectations that the U.S. central bank could adjust its forward guidance.
The kiwi was lower against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD adding 0.23% to 1.0625.
Also Monday, Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey said that the underlying cash deficit will deteriorate to A$40.4 billion in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015, compared to May's estimate of A$29.8 billion.
Mr. Hockey's comments were made in the Treasury's mid-year economic and fiscal outlook.
The government also forecast an unemployment rate of 6.5% by mid 2015, up from the May projection of 6.25%.
Separately, data showed that Australia's new motor vehicle sales fell 0.6% last month, after a 1.6% decline in October.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release reports on manufacturing activity in the New York region and industrial production.