Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar rallied over 1% to one-month highs against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised interest rates by 0.25%, while markets eyed the release of U.S. economic reports later in the day.
NZD/USD hit 0.8663 during late Asian trade, the pair's highest since May 15; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8664, jumping 1.50%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8561, the low of May 20 and resistance at 0.8710, the high of May 7.
In a widely expected move, the RBNZ raised its benchmark interest rate to 3.25% from 3.00% and suggested that borrowing costs could rise again this year.
Commenting on the decision, RBNZ Governor Graeme Wheeler said "it is important that inflation expectations remain contained and that interest rates return to a more neutral level."
Meanwhile, market participants were looking ahead U.S. data on jobless claims and retail sales later in the trading day, after recent economic reports have indicated that the economy is shaking off the effects of the severe winter.
The kiwi was also sharply higher against the euro, with EUR/NZD tumbling 1.40% to 1.5625.