Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar held steady against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, as investors remained cautious as the ongoing drop in oil prices continued to dampen risk sentiment.
NZD/USD hit 0.6476 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.6434.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.6345, Wednesday’s low and a four-month low and resistance at 0.6514, the high of January 19.
Markets were still jittery after oil prices dropped to the lowest level since 2003 on Wednesday, falling below $28 per barrel after the International Energy Agency said in a report that the supply glut in markets looks set to last until at least late 2016.
The greenback remained under pressure after string of disappointing U.S. economic reports was released on Wednesday.
The U.S. Commerce Department said that consumer prices fell 0.1% in December, compared to expectations for a flat reading.
Separately, the U.S. Commerce Department said that housing starts fell 2.5% to hit 1.149 million units last month from November’s total of 1.179 million units. Analysts had expected a rise 1.6% to 1.200 million.
Meanwhile, the number of building permits issued declined 3.9% to 1.232 million units from November’s total of 1.289 million. Economists had forecast a drop of 6.4% to 1.200 million units.
The kiwi was higher against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD sliding 0.30% to 1.0709.
Earlier Thursday, the Melbourne Institute said that its inflation expectations for the next 12 months ticked down to 3.6% in December from 4.0% the previous month.