Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar slipped lower against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, as investors eyed the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's interest rate decision due later in the day and as expectations for a U.S. rate hike continued to support the greenback.
NZD/USD hit 0.6623 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.6635, down 0.14%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.6579, the low of December 1 and resistance at 0.6750, Monday's high.
Later Wednesday, the RBNZ was expected to lower its benchmark interest rate by 0.25% from 2.75% to 2.50%.
Market participants were also eyeing the central bank's press conference, due shortly after the interest rate decision, for indications on the RBNZ's future policy moves.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained broadly supported after Friday's strong U.S. employment data fuelled further expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates for the first time since 2006 at its upcoming meeting on December 15-16.
The kiwi was lower against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD rising 0.25% to 1.0884.
Earlier Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that home loans fell 0.5% in October, compared to expectations for a 1.0% decline, after a 2.0% rise the previous month.
Separately, the Westpac Banking Corporation said consumer sentiment in Australia fell 0.8% this month, after a 3.9% increase in November.