Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar was lower against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, as market sentiment remained under pressure after Japan's prime minister decided to delay a planned sales tax hike and called early elections.
NZD/USD hit 0.7861 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since November 14; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7863, declining 0.74%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7796, the low of November 12 and resistance at 0.7976, the high of November 17.
On Tuesday, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced plans to delay a sales tax hike due to take place next year after an increase in April played a part in pulling Japan into a recession.
He also called elections for December, to seek a fresh mandate for his economic policies.
The decision came after data showed that Japan’s economy fell back into recession in the third quarter, contracting by an annualized 1.6% after a 7.3% contraction in the previous quarter.
The kiwi was steady against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD inching up 0.06% to 1.1013.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on building permits and housing starts. In addition, the Federal Reserve was to publish the minutes of its October meeting.