Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar was steady against its U.S. counterpart during Friday’s Asian as kiwi bulls sought to prop the currency up after another day of congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
In Asian trading Friday, NZD/USD inched up 0.03% to 0.7906. The pair was likely to find support at 0.7800, the low of July 16 and resistance at 0.7969, the high of July 11.
Bernanke said in congressional testimony the central bank could scale back its asset purchases if the economy continues to improve, but added that there was no “preset course.”
Bernanke said the bank’s bond purchase program could be tapered at a faster pace, slower pace or even temporarily increased depending on economic and financial developments.
The kiwi fell Thursday after Bernanke said on Wednesday that the central bank expects to start tapering bond purchases by the end of the year, but added that there was no “preset course.”
After opening the session higher against the majors, some of the wind came out of the greenback’s sails as traders took profits following some encouraging data points. In U.S. economic news out Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits slid by 24,000 to 334,000 last week. The less volatile four-week moving average dropped by 5,250.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index rose 19.8 in the current month from June’s reading of 12.5. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 7.8.
Elsewhere, NZD/JPY inched down 0.04% to 79.34 while AUD/NZD fell 0.05% to 1.1606.
In Asian trading Friday, NZD/USD inched up 0.03% to 0.7906. The pair was likely to find support at 0.7800, the low of July 16 and resistance at 0.7969, the high of July 11.
Bernanke said in congressional testimony the central bank could scale back its asset purchases if the economy continues to improve, but added that there was no “preset course.”
Bernanke said the bank’s bond purchase program could be tapered at a faster pace, slower pace or even temporarily increased depending on economic and financial developments.
The kiwi fell Thursday after Bernanke said on Wednesday that the central bank expects to start tapering bond purchases by the end of the year, but added that there was no “preset course.”
After opening the session higher against the majors, some of the wind came out of the greenback’s sails as traders took profits following some encouraging data points. In U.S. economic news out Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits slid by 24,000 to 334,000 last week. The less volatile four-week moving average dropped by 5,250.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index rose 19.8 in the current month from June’s reading of 12.5. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 7.8.
Elsewhere, NZD/JPY inched down 0.04% to 79.34 while AUD/NZD fell 0.05% to 1.1606.