Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar was higher against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, but the kiwi remained under pressure as disappointing trade balance data from China weighed on export-linked currencies amid ongoing concerns over Greece’s political deadlock.
NZD/USD hit 0.7877 during late Asian trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7885, rising 0.58%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7792, the low of January 5 and resistance at 0.7953, the high of January 13.
The kiwi’s gains were limited as data showed earlier that Chinese exports and imports in April were well below analysts’ expectations.
In a report, the Customs General Administration of China said the nation’s trade surplus widened to USD18.42 billion in April from USD5.35 in the previous month.
The report said that exports rose by 4.9% in April from a year earlier, below expectations for growth of 9.1% and slowing from 8.9% in March.
Imports grew by a modest 0.4% in April, significantly below expectations of 12.5% and slowing sharply from 5.3% in the previous month.
Meanwhile, investors eyed developments in Greece after Alexis Tsipras, the head of Greece’s second-biggest party Syriza, gave up his attempt to form a new government on Wednesday, putting Greek Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos in a position to make a last-ditch attempt to form a government on Thursday.
Chances of any deal on a coalition looked slim after two failed attempts, making new elections in three to four weeks the most likely outcome and fueling fears that Greece will not have a government in place in time to secure its next tranche of international aid next month.
The kiwi was lower against the Australian dollar with AUD/NZD adding 0.18%, to hit 1.2836.
Also Thursday, official data showed that Australia’s unemployment rate fell unexpectedly to 4.9% from 5.2% in March. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to rise to 5.3% in April.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on trade balance, followed by government reports on unemployment claims and import prices. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was also due to speak.
NZD/USD hit 0.7877 during late Asian trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7885, rising 0.58%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7792, the low of January 5 and resistance at 0.7953, the high of January 13.
The kiwi’s gains were limited as data showed earlier that Chinese exports and imports in April were well below analysts’ expectations.
In a report, the Customs General Administration of China said the nation’s trade surplus widened to USD18.42 billion in April from USD5.35 in the previous month.
The report said that exports rose by 4.9% in April from a year earlier, below expectations for growth of 9.1% and slowing from 8.9% in March.
Imports grew by a modest 0.4% in April, significantly below expectations of 12.5% and slowing sharply from 5.3% in the previous month.
Meanwhile, investors eyed developments in Greece after Alexis Tsipras, the head of Greece’s second-biggest party Syriza, gave up his attempt to form a new government on Wednesday, putting Greek Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos in a position to make a last-ditch attempt to form a government on Thursday.
Chances of any deal on a coalition looked slim after two failed attempts, making new elections in three to four weeks the most likely outcome and fueling fears that Greece will not have a government in place in time to secure its next tranche of international aid next month.
The kiwi was lower against the Australian dollar with AUD/NZD adding 0.18%, to hit 1.2836.
Also Thursday, official data showed that Australia’s unemployment rate fell unexpectedly to 4.9% from 5.2% in March. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to rise to 5.3% in April.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on trade balance, followed by government reports on unemployment claims and import prices. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was also due to speak.