Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar was higher against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, but gains were limited as sustained global growth concerns and fears over the handling of the euro zone's financial crisis continued to dominate market sentiment.
NZD/USD hit 0.8182 during European morning trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8180, adding 0.20%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8147, the low of August 7 and resistance at 0.8238, the high of October 9.
Euro zone debt concerns persisted after ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut its rating on Spain to BBB-minus from BBB-plus with a negative outlook late Wednesday, citing "mounting risks to Spain’s public finances."
The ratings agency also warned that the capacity of Spanish political institutions to deal with the challenges presented by the current fiscal and economic crisis is declining.
The move brought S&P into line with Moody's, which downgraded Spain in June.
Markets were also jittery amid ongoing uncertainty over Spain’s position on requesting external financial aid and what form a bailout would take.
The kiwi was lower against the Australian dollar with AUD/NZD rising 0.22%, to hit 1.2562.
Also Thursday, official data showed that Australia's economy added 14,500 jobs in September, far more than the expected 3,800 increase, following a 9,100 decline in jobs the previous month.
Australia's unemployment rate rose more-than-expected in September however, ticking up to 5.4% from 5.1%. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to rise to 5.3% last month.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish government data on the trade balance, in addition to official data on initial jobless claims, import prices and crude oil stockpiles.
NZD/USD hit 0.8182 during European morning trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8180, adding 0.20%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8147, the low of August 7 and resistance at 0.8238, the high of October 9.
Euro zone debt concerns persisted after ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut its rating on Spain to BBB-minus from BBB-plus with a negative outlook late Wednesday, citing "mounting risks to Spain’s public finances."
The ratings agency also warned that the capacity of Spanish political institutions to deal with the challenges presented by the current fiscal and economic crisis is declining.
The move brought S&P into line with Moody's, which downgraded Spain in June.
Markets were also jittery amid ongoing uncertainty over Spain’s position on requesting external financial aid and what form a bailout would take.
The kiwi was lower against the Australian dollar with AUD/NZD rising 0.22%, to hit 1.2562.
Also Thursday, official data showed that Australia's economy added 14,500 jobs in September, far more than the expected 3,800 increase, following a 9,100 decline in jobs the previous month.
Australia's unemployment rate rose more-than-expected in September however, ticking up to 5.4% from 5.1%. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to rise to 5.3% last month.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish government data on the trade balance, in addition to official data on initial jobless claims, import prices and crude oil stockpiles.