Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar traded lower against its U.S. rival during Tuesday’s Asian session after a report showed labor costs in New Zealand rose in the first quarter.
In Asian trading Tuesday, NZD/USD fell modestly by 0.06% to 0.8511. The pair was likely to find support at 0.8482, the low of May 1 and resistance at 0.8583, the high of May 1.
Earlier Tuesday, Statistics New Zealand said labor costs there rose 0.4% in the first quarter from the fourth quarter and 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Economists expected the first-quarter reading to be flat with the fourth-quarter reading of 0.5%.
The quarterly employment survey showed private sector average hourly wages jumped 1% in the first quarter and were higher by 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Public sector earnings rose 1.6% and 1.4% year-over-year.
The filled jobs number increased 0.4%. Tuesday’s data is the first batch in what will be a busy week for New Zealand data points.
New Zealand’s household labor survey is due out Thursday and economists are expecting job growth of 0.8% with a participation rate of 67.8%. It is also expected that New Zealand’s unemployment rate fell to 6.8% from 6.9%.
Elsewhere, AUD/NZD inched lower by 0.05% to 1.2037 as the kiwi hovers near three-and-a-half year highs against the Aussie.
The Reserve Bank of Australia holds another policy meeting Tuesday with a slim majority of traders expecting an interest rate cute. After slashing rates multiple times from late 2011 through 2012, the central bank has stepped away from rate-cutting this year to observe how the previous rate cuts have helped the world’s 12th-largest economy.
NZD/JPY fell 0.43% to 84.22 while GBP/NZD rose 0.07% to 1.8270.
In Asian trading Tuesday, NZD/USD fell modestly by 0.06% to 0.8511. The pair was likely to find support at 0.8482, the low of May 1 and resistance at 0.8583, the high of May 1.
Earlier Tuesday, Statistics New Zealand said labor costs there rose 0.4% in the first quarter from the fourth quarter and 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Economists expected the first-quarter reading to be flat with the fourth-quarter reading of 0.5%.
The quarterly employment survey showed private sector average hourly wages jumped 1% in the first quarter and were higher by 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Public sector earnings rose 1.6% and 1.4% year-over-year.
The filled jobs number increased 0.4%. Tuesday’s data is the first batch in what will be a busy week for New Zealand data points.
New Zealand’s household labor survey is due out Thursday and economists are expecting job growth of 0.8% with a participation rate of 67.8%. It is also expected that New Zealand’s unemployment rate fell to 6.8% from 6.9%.
Elsewhere, AUD/NZD inched lower by 0.05% to 1.2037 as the kiwi hovers near three-and-a-half year highs against the Aussie.
The Reserve Bank of Australia holds another policy meeting Tuesday with a slim majority of traders expecting an interest rate cute. After slashing rates multiple times from late 2011 through 2012, the central bank has stepped away from rate-cutting this year to observe how the previous rate cuts have helped the world’s 12th-largest economy.
NZD/JPY fell 0.43% to 84.22 while GBP/NZD rose 0.07% to 1.8270.