Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar edged up to 20-month highs against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, supported by data showing that manufacturing activity in New Zealand expanded last month.
NZD/USD hit 0.8600 during late Asian trade, the pair's highest since August 4, 2011; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8589, adding 0.15%.
The pair was likely to find support at and resistance at 0.8650, the high of August 4, 2011.
In New Zealand, the business NZ manufacturing index slipped to 53.4 in March, from a reading of 56.0 the previous month, remaining in expansion territory for the fourth consecutive month.
Separately, industry data showed that house price inflation in New Zealand rose 2.4% in March after a 1.6% increase the previous month.
Meanwhile, the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s March meeting, which were inadvertently released ahead of schedule, showed that a few policymakers saw quantitative easing tapering around midyear, while several others believed it would be appropriate to slow later in the year and to stop by the end of the year.
The impact of the minutes was muted as the meeting was held before nonfarm payrolls data showed that the U.S. economy added far fewer than expected jobs in March.
The kiwi was higher against the Aussie with AUD/NZD declining 0.39%, to hit 1.2242.
Also Thursday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said the economy lost 36,100 jobs in March, far more than the expected 5,000 decline, after 74,000 jobs were created the previous month.
The report added that Australia's unemployment rate ticked up unexpectedly to 5.6% last month, from 5.4% in February. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish the weekly government report on initial jobless claims and data on import prices.
NZD/USD hit 0.8600 during late Asian trade, the pair's highest since August 4, 2011; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8589, adding 0.15%.
The pair was likely to find support at and resistance at 0.8650, the high of August 4, 2011.
In New Zealand, the business NZ manufacturing index slipped to 53.4 in March, from a reading of 56.0 the previous month, remaining in expansion territory for the fourth consecutive month.
Separately, industry data showed that house price inflation in New Zealand rose 2.4% in March after a 1.6% increase the previous month.
Meanwhile, the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s March meeting, which were inadvertently released ahead of schedule, showed that a few policymakers saw quantitative easing tapering around midyear, while several others believed it would be appropriate to slow later in the year and to stop by the end of the year.
The impact of the minutes was muted as the meeting was held before nonfarm payrolls data showed that the U.S. economy added far fewer than expected jobs in March.
The kiwi was higher against the Aussie with AUD/NZD declining 0.39%, to hit 1.2242.
Also Thursday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said the economy lost 36,100 jobs in March, far more than the expected 5,000 decline, after 74,000 jobs were created the previous month.
The report added that Australia's unemployment rate ticked up unexpectedly to 5.6% last month, from 5.4% in February. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish the weekly government report on initial jobless claims and data on import prices.