Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, trading within close distance of a two-month trough as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's most recent remarks supported the greenback.
NZD/USD hit 0.7293 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since May 21; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7311.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7272, the low of March 18 and resistance at 0.7357, the high of May 21.
The greenback strengthened after Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Friday that interest rates will be raised later in th year.
After that, future rate hikes will be small and gradual over the next several years, Yellen added.
The U.S. dollar had also been boosted on Friday after the Department of Labor said that the U.S. consumer price index rose 0.1% in April, in line with expectations and after a 0.2% gain the previous month.
Year-on-year, consumer prices slipped 0.2% last month however, compared to expectations for a 0.1% downtick, following a 0.1% fall in March.
The core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3% in April, exceeding expectations for a 0.2% increase, after a 0.2% gain the previous month.
The report came after a string of downbeat U.S. data on Thursday had fuelled fresh uncertainty over the strength of the economy.
The kiwi was lower against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD edging up 0.13% to 1.0710.