Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar is trading lower against its U.S. counterpart during Wednesday’s Asian following a wider-than-expected reading of New Zealand’s fourth-quarter current account deficit.
In Asian trading Wednesday, NZD/USD is down 0.17% at 0.8234. The pair was likely to find support at 0.8194, the low of March 15 and resistance at 0.8279, the high of March 15.
Earlier today, Statistics New Zealand said that New Zealand’s current account balance fell to a seasonally adjusted NZD-3.26 billion in the fourth quarter from NZD-4.42 billion in the third quarter. Analysts expected a fourth-quarter reading of NZD-3 billion.
The kiwi faltered Tuesday after traders were scared on news of a Reserve Bank of New Zealand plan that would tax bank deposits if a bank in the country failed. The plan, known as the Reserve Bank's Open Bank Resolution, is scheduled to go into effect in June and clearly sparked a jittery mood among traders following news of Cyprus grappling with a tax on bank deposits there.
Late Tuesday, Cypriot policymakers rejected the highly unpopular plan that would tax bank deposits in the country of less than EUR100,000 at a rate of 6.75% and deposits north of that amount at a rate of 9.9%. The vote casts doubt on the ability of the country to secure bailout funding and has prompted fears Cyprus could go bankrupt and be forced out of the euro zone.
The kiwi also weakened after New Zealand Finance Minister Bill English called the currency overvalued. New Zealand’s dollar is up 12% in the past two years and is the second-best performing developed world currency against the U.S. dollar since the global financial crisis behind the Australian dollar.
Elsewhere, AUD/NZD is up 0.23% at 1.2604 while EUR/NZD is higher by 0.16% at 1.5658. NZD/JPY is off 0.40% at 78.18.
In Asian trading Wednesday, NZD/USD is down 0.17% at 0.8234. The pair was likely to find support at 0.8194, the low of March 15 and resistance at 0.8279, the high of March 15.
Earlier today, Statistics New Zealand said that New Zealand’s current account balance fell to a seasonally adjusted NZD-3.26 billion in the fourth quarter from NZD-4.42 billion in the third quarter. Analysts expected a fourth-quarter reading of NZD-3 billion.
The kiwi faltered Tuesday after traders were scared on news of a Reserve Bank of New Zealand plan that would tax bank deposits if a bank in the country failed. The plan, known as the Reserve Bank's Open Bank Resolution, is scheduled to go into effect in June and clearly sparked a jittery mood among traders following news of Cyprus grappling with a tax on bank deposits there.
Late Tuesday, Cypriot policymakers rejected the highly unpopular plan that would tax bank deposits in the country of less than EUR100,000 at a rate of 6.75% and deposits north of that amount at a rate of 9.9%. The vote casts doubt on the ability of the country to secure bailout funding and has prompted fears Cyprus could go bankrupt and be forced out of the euro zone.
The kiwi also weakened after New Zealand Finance Minister Bill English called the currency overvalued. New Zealand’s dollar is up 12% in the past two years and is the second-best performing developed world currency against the U.S. dollar since the global financial crisis behind the Australian dollar.
Elsewhere, AUD/NZD is up 0.23% at 1.2604 while EUR/NZD is higher by 0.16% at 1.5658. NZD/JPY is off 0.40% at 78.18.