Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar rose against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, easing off eight-week lows as sentiment on the greenback weakened after its recent rally and as markets turned to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's Financial Stability Report due on Wednesday.
NZD/USD hit 0.7371 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7363, rising 0.41%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7272, the low of March 18 and resistance at 0.7450, the high of March 12.
Demand for the greenback weakened as optimism following Friday's U.S. jobs data began to subside.
The Labor Department reported on Friday that the U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs in April, just shy of economists forecast for 224,000. The unemployment rate ticked down from 5.5% to 5.4%, the lowest since May 2008.
However, March’s payrolls report was revised to show that only 85,000 jobs were created, the fewest since June 2012.
Market participants were looking to the RBNZ's upcoming financial stability report for further indications on the central bank's next monetary policy moves. RBNZ Governor Graeme Wheeler was expected to hold a press conference following the release of the report.
The kiwi was lower against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD edging up 0.21% to 1.0779.
Also Tuesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that home loans increased by 1.6% in March, exceeding expectations for a 1.0% rise. The change in home loans for February was revised to a 1.1% gain from a previously estimated 1.2% increase.