Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar was lower against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, as a sustained drop in oil prices prompted investors to flock to safer assets.
NZD/USD hit 0.7690 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since January 6; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7731, edging down 0.09%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7669, the low of January 6 and resistance at 0.7802, Tuesday's high.
Oil was hit after the World Bank cut its forecasts for global growth on Tuesday, adding to fears over the faltering economic recovery. Oil prices continued to tumble on Wednesday after falling to almost six year lows in the previous session, after OPEC said it will not cut output despite a global supply glut.
The rout in oil, which has halved in value in six months, has fuelled concerns of exacerbating already low levels of inflation in many major world economies, including the euro zone.
Data last week showed that consumer prices in the euro area fell in December for the first time since October 2009.
The kiwi was higher against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD retreating 0.65% to 1.0483.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce data on retail sales, in addition to reports on import prices and business inventories.