Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar was almost unchanged against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, as markets were jittery ahead of Spanish and Italian debt auctions later in the week while concerns over the euro zone’s debt crisis continued to weigh.
NZD/USD hit 0.7954 during late Asian trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7954, inching up 0.05%.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde discussed Greece and efforts to resolve the euro zone’s debt crisis on Tuesday. During the meeting, they renewed their “commitment to the goal of strengthening growth and employment in Europe in a sustainable way.”
Meanwhile, investors eyed Spain and Italy’s plan to sell as much as EUR17 billion in debt on Thursday and Friday respectively.
The yield on 10-year Italian government bonds remained above the 7% threshold seen as unsustainable, at 7.14%, while the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds was at 5.54%.
Markets were also jittery ahead of Thursday’s European Central Bank policy meeting. The ECB was expected to keep rates unchanged at 1% and to reiterate that governments in the euro zone must step up efforts to tackle the region’s debt crisis.
Elsewhere, the kiwi was higher against the Australian dollar with AUD/NZD declining 0.12%, to hit 1.2964.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on crude oil stockpiles, while the Federal Reserve was to release its Beige Book.
NZD/USD hit 0.7954 during late Asian trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7954, inching up 0.05%.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde discussed Greece and efforts to resolve the euro zone’s debt crisis on Tuesday. During the meeting, they renewed their “commitment to the goal of strengthening growth and employment in Europe in a sustainable way.”
Meanwhile, investors eyed Spain and Italy’s plan to sell as much as EUR17 billion in debt on Thursday and Friday respectively.
The yield on 10-year Italian government bonds remained above the 7% threshold seen as unsustainable, at 7.14%, while the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds was at 5.54%.
Markets were also jittery ahead of Thursday’s European Central Bank policy meeting. The ECB was expected to keep rates unchanged at 1% and to reiterate that governments in the euro zone must step up efforts to tackle the region’s debt crisis.
Elsewhere, the kiwi was higher against the Australian dollar with AUD/NZD declining 0.12%, to hit 1.2964.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on crude oil stockpiles, while the Federal Reserve was to release its Beige Book.