Investing.com - The New Zealand was steady against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, trading near two-week lows as the release of downbeat Chinese manufacturing data weighed on the export-related currency, although demand for the greenback remained supported.
NZD/USD hit 0.8243 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since February 7; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8273, easing 0.01%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8212, the low of February 7 and resistance at 0.8343, Wednesday's high.
Data earlier showed that the preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing index fell to a seven month low of 48.3 this month, down from 49.5 in January, remaining below the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction for a second month.
China is New Zealand's second biggest export partner.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained supported after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's January meeting indicated that that the current pace of its decrease in bond purchases would remain unchanged, so long as the economy shows signs of improvement.
The kiwi was higher against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD shedding 0.46% to 1.0828.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the weekly report on initial jobless claims and data on consumer price inflation, as well as a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.