Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar dropped to two-month lows against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, after data showed that the number of employed people rose less than expected in New Zealand in the last quarter.
NZD/USD hit 0.8424 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since June 4; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8439, declining 0.34%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8402, the low of June 4 and resistance at 0.8492, the high of June 2.
Official data earlier showed that the number of employed people in New Zealand rose 0.4% in the second quarter, confounding expectations for an increase of 0.7%, after a 0.9% rise in the three months to April.
The report also showed that New Zealand's unemployment rate ticked down to 5.6% in the last quarter, from 6.0% in the first quarter, compared to expectations for a decline to 5.8%.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained supported after data on Tuesday showed that the U.S. service sector expanded at the fastest pace in more than three years in July.
The Institute for Supply Management's services purchasing manager's index rose to 58.7 up from 56.0 in June, beating forecasts and well above the 50 level that signals expansion.
The dollar also strengthened after another report showed that U.S. factory orders rose 1.1% in June, above economists' forecasts of a 0.5% gain.
The kiwi was lower against the euro, with EUR/NZD adding 0.18% to 1.5824.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish data on the trade balance.