Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar rose to two-and-a-half week highs against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, as demand for the greenback weakened ahead of Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s first testimony on monetary policy to Congress later in the day.
NZD/USD hit 0.8312 during late Asian trade, the pair's highest since January 23; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8319, advancing 0.64%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8212, the low of February 7 and resistance at 0.8375, the high of January 15.
Ms. Yellen was to testify on monetary policy and the outlook for the economy before the House Financial Services Committee later Tuesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.
The Fed chair was expected to reiterate that the bank will continue to unwind its stimulus program as long as the economic recovery continues as expected, and to repeat that the bank will keep interest rates at current record lows for some time to come.
The testimony is coming amid fresh concerns over the outlook for the recovery, following the weakest two-month stretch of U.S. job creation in three years in December and January.
The kiwi was lower against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD adding 0.18% to 1.0845.
Also Tuesday, the National Australia Bank said its business confidence index rose to 8 in January, from a reading of 6 the previous month.
A separate report showed that house price inflation in Australia rose 3.4% in the fourth quarter, exceeding expectations for a 3% increase. House price inflation in the third quarter was revised up to a 2.4% gain from a previously estimated 1.9% rise.
Official data also showed that Australia home loans declined 1.9% in December, compared to expectations for a 0.9% rise. November home loans were revised up to a 1.4% rise from a previously estimated 1.1% gain.