Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar fell to three-and-a-half month low against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, following disappointing employment data from New Zealand while euro zone debt concerns continued to weigh on market sentiment.
NZD/USD hit 0.8046 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since January 25; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8051, declining 0.68%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7994, the low of January 20 and resistance at 0.8118, the high of January 24.
Official data showed earlier that employment change in New Zealand rose less-than-expected in the first quarter, adding 0.4% after a 0.2% rise the previous quarter. Analysts had expected employment change to rise 0.5% in the first quarter.
The report also showed that the country’s unemployment rate rose to 6.7%, from 6.4% in the fourth quarter, disappointing expectations for a decline to 6.3%.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious ahead of the European Central Bank’s policy-setting meeting later in the day, as well as weekend elections in Greece and France.
Market sentiment was sharply hit on Wednesday after a string of weak data from the U.S. and the euro zone reignited fears over the outlook for global economic growth.
Data showed that the final euro zone manufacturing index slumped to a 34-month low in April, while the unemployment rate in the bloc climbed to a record 10.7% in March.
A separate showed that the U.S. private sector added 119,000 jobs in April, far short of expectations for a gain of 177,000. It was the smallest increase in ADP nonfarm payrolls since September 2011.
Elsewhere, the kiwi was lower against the euro with EUR/NZD advancing 0.55%, to hit 1.6319.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce government data on unemployment claims, as well as preliminary data on nonfarm productivity and unit labor costs. In addition, the Institute of Supply Management was to produce a report on service sector growth.
NZD/USD hit 0.8046 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since January 25; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8051, declining 0.68%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7994, the low of January 20 and resistance at 0.8118, the high of January 24.
Official data showed earlier that employment change in New Zealand rose less-than-expected in the first quarter, adding 0.4% after a 0.2% rise the previous quarter. Analysts had expected employment change to rise 0.5% in the first quarter.
The report also showed that the country’s unemployment rate rose to 6.7%, from 6.4% in the fourth quarter, disappointing expectations for a decline to 6.3%.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious ahead of the European Central Bank’s policy-setting meeting later in the day, as well as weekend elections in Greece and France.
Market sentiment was sharply hit on Wednesday after a string of weak data from the U.S. and the euro zone reignited fears over the outlook for global economic growth.
Data showed that the final euro zone manufacturing index slumped to a 34-month low in April, while the unemployment rate in the bloc climbed to a record 10.7% in March.
A separate showed that the U.S. private sector added 119,000 jobs in April, far short of expectations for a gain of 177,000. It was the smallest increase in ADP nonfarm payrolls since September 2011.
Elsewhere, the kiwi was lower against the euro with EUR/NZD advancing 0.55%, to hit 1.6319.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce government data on unemployment claims, as well as preliminary data on nonfarm productivity and unit labor costs. In addition, the Institute of Supply Management was to produce a report on service sector growth.