Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar climbed against its U.S. rival during Thursday’s Asian session following hawkish comments from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
In Asian trading Thursday, NZD/USD rose 0.43% to 0.8118. The pair was likely to find support at 0.7962, the low of September 9 and resistance at 0.8162, the high of August 19.
While RBNZ left interest rates at 2.5%, Governor Graeme Wheeler confirmed that a rate hike is on the table for 2014, something that many traders previously believed to be the case.
"With the inflation pressures that have the potential to build up, given the capacity constraints in the economy, we will need to raise interest rates," said Wheeler without confirming exactly when rates could rise.
With the developed world awash in quantitative easing and ultra-low interest rates, RBNZ would be one of the first central banks to raise rates. Wheeler is betting new limits on riskier mortgages will curb demand for property and give him scope to leave rates unchanged for as long as possible to avoid fueling demand for the New Zealand dollar, according to Bloomberg.
"The extent and timing of the rise in policy rates will depend largely on the degree to which the momentum in the housing market and construction sector spills over into broader demand and inflation pressures," said RBNZ in a statement.
Elsewhere, AUD/NZD slid 1.15% to 1.1412 after the Australian Bureau of Statistics said the country’s unemployment rate rose to 5.8% last month from 5.7% in July. Analysts expected that increase.
The Statistics Bureau added that the Australian employment change fell by 10,800 in August after a July drop of 11,400. The July number was revised lower after an initial reading showed a decline of 10,200. Analysts expected an August increase of 10,000.
EUR/NZD dropped 0.48% to 1.6397.