Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar declined against its U.S. counterpart on Friday, as traders continued to mull the timing of a Federal Reserve rate hike.
NZD/USD shed 0.34% on Friday to settle at 0.7540 by late trade. For the week, the pair lost 0.99%.
Demand for the dollar was underpinned by expectations for higher interest rates, as investors regained confidence that the U.S. economy would continue to recover after recent economic reports pointed to a slowdown at the start of the year.
The greenback received a boost earlier in the week after comments by the presidents of the New York and Richmond Federal Reserve banks made the case for the Fed to begin policy tightening as early as the summer.
Some investors had pushed back the timing of a rate hike until late 2015 after a surprisingly weak U.S. employment report for March.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.38% to 99.63 late Friday. The index gained 2.89% for the week.
In the week ahead, markets will be looking ahead to Tuesday’s report on U.S. retail sales, as well as Friday’s reports on inflation and consumer sentiment, for further indications on the strength of the economy.
Traders are also looking ahead to a raft of Chinese economic data in the week ahead, including reports on first quarter gross domestic product, as well as data on industrial production and the trade balance.
The Asian nation is New Zealand's second largest trade partner.
Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of these and other significant events likely to affect the markets.
Monday, April 13
China is to release data on the trade balance.
Tuesday, April 14
New Zealand is to produce private sector data on business confidence.
Later in the day, the U.S. is to release data on retail sales and producer prices.
Wednesday, April 15
China is to release official figures on GDP growth and fixed asset investment.
The U.S. is to release reports on industrial production and manufacturing activity in New York state.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank is to announce its interest rate decision. The rate announcement is to be followed by a press conference with President Mario Draghi.
Thursday, April 16
The U.S. is to release a string of reports, including jobless claims, building permits, housing starts and manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.
Friday, April 17
The U.S. is to round up the week with data on consumer prices and consumer sentiment.