Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar slipped lower against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, after the release of downbeat Chinese manufacturing data sparked fresh concerns over a slowdown in the world's second largest economy.
NZD/USD hit 0.8517 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since March 20; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8516, falling 0.23%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8439, the low of March 12 and resistance at 0.8583, the high of March 17.
The preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to an eight-month low of 48.1 in March from a final reading of 48.5 in February. Analysts had expected the index to tick up to 48.7.
China is New Zealand's second biggest export partner.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained supported after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen suggested last week that a rate hike might come about six months after the bank’s stimulus program ends, which is expected to happen in the fall.
The kiwi was lower against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD rising 0.31% to 1.0674.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release preliminary data on manufacturing activity.