Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar slipped lower against its U.S. counterpart on Thursdsy, but remained within close distance of a six-week high after data showed that the New Zealand economy grew at a slower rate than expected in the last quarter.
NZD/USD hit 0.8706 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8726, easing 0.07%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8642, the low of June 17 and resistance at 0.8780, the high of May 6.
Official data earlier showed that New Zealand's gross domestic product rose by 1% in the first quarter, compared to expectations for an expansion of 1.2%. For the fourth quarter of 2013, New Zealand's GDP was revised up to an expansion of 1% from a previously estimated growth rate of 0.9%.
But the greenback remained under pressure after the Federal Reserve indicated that interest rates will remain low for a considerable time after the bank’s asset purchase program ends.
At the conclusion of its two-day meeting on Wednesday, the Fed cut its bond purchases by another $10 billion a month, to $35 billion, saying there was "sufficient underlying strength" in the U.S. economy to continue tapering.
Despite this, the Fed also lowered its forecast for growth this year to a range of 2.1% to 2.3% from 2.8 to 3.0% previously, due to "unexpected contractions" in the first quarter as a result of the unusually harsh winter. The central bank still acknowledged a broad improvement in the labor market.
The Fed said it expects the federal-funds rate, currently close to zero, to reach 1.2% by the end of next year and 2.5% by the end of 2016, a slightly faster rate of tightening than formerly expected.
The kiwi was lower against the euro, with EUR/NZD gaining 0.32% to 1.5616.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish the weekly report on initial jobless claims as well as a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.