Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar surged against the U.S. dollar during Thursday’s Asian session on the back of some strong employment data.
In Asian trading Thursday, NZD/USD rose 0.82% to 0.8472. The pair was likely to find support at 0.8340, the low of March 26 and cracked resistance at 0.8467, the session high.
That move higher came after Statistics New Zealand said in a report that the country’s employment rate rose 1.7% in the first quarter, easily topping analysts’ expectations calling for a 0.8%. New Zealand’s unemployment rate is now 6.2%, well below the 6.8% economists expected.
The jobs data helped the kiwi reclaim all of its post-intervention revelation losses. On Wednesday, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler confirmed the central bank has been intervening in the forex market over the past month in an effort to weaken the kiwi.
In the RBNZ's May 2013 Financial Stability Report, Wheeler said developments in private sector credit and the housing market point to increasing risks to financial stability in New Zealand.
He also said that further price escalation will worsen the potential damage that could result from a housing downturn following an economic or financial shock.
Those comments prompted speculation RBNZ could cut interest rates at some point, though Thursday’s jobs report may give the central bank some room to hold off on rate cutting. RBNZ has previously said it wants to hold rates steady this year with an eye towards a rate hike in early 2014.
Elsewhere, AUD/NZD inched lower by 0.04% to 1.2100 while NZD/JPY rose 0.47% to 83.61.
In Asian trading Thursday, NZD/USD rose 0.82% to 0.8472. The pair was likely to find support at 0.8340, the low of March 26 and cracked resistance at 0.8467, the session high.
That move higher came after Statistics New Zealand said in a report that the country’s employment rate rose 1.7% in the first quarter, easily topping analysts’ expectations calling for a 0.8%. New Zealand’s unemployment rate is now 6.2%, well below the 6.8% economists expected.
The jobs data helped the kiwi reclaim all of its post-intervention revelation losses. On Wednesday, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler confirmed the central bank has been intervening in the forex market over the past month in an effort to weaken the kiwi.
In the RBNZ's May 2013 Financial Stability Report, Wheeler said developments in private sector credit and the housing market point to increasing risks to financial stability in New Zealand.
He also said that further price escalation will worsen the potential damage that could result from a housing downturn following an economic or financial shock.
Those comments prompted speculation RBNZ could cut interest rates at some point, though Thursday’s jobs report may give the central bank some room to hold off on rate cutting. RBNZ has previously said it wants to hold rates steady this year with an eye towards a rate hike in early 2014.
Elsewhere, AUD/NZD inched lower by 0.04% to 1.2100 while NZD/JPY rose 0.47% to 83.61.