Kiwi nears 1-month high against dollar after upbeat New Zealand data

On Thursday the New Zealand dollar rose against greenback, to trade close to a one-month high after the release of strong New Zealand trade balance data. 

Demand for the U.S. dollar remained broadly under pressure.

NZD/USD hit 0.7577 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7565, adding 0.12%. Cable was likely to find support at 0.7479, Wednesday's low and resistance at 0.7712, the high of January 21.

Statistics New Zealand said in a report that the country's trade balance swung into a surplus of NZ$56 million last month from a deficit of NZ$195 million in December, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of NZ$159 million.

Analysts had expected the trade deficit to hit NZ$162 million in January.

In the meantime, the greenback remained under pressure amid lowered expectations for a mid-year U.S. rate hike after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in testimony to the Senate Banking Committee Tuesday that it was "unlikely" that economic conditions would warrant an interest rate increase for "at least the next couple of FOMC meetings".

On Wednesday, a second day of testimony to the Financial Services Committee, Janet Yellen reiterated this message, saying that wage growth and inflation must rise before the bank can hike rates, despite signs of improvement in the labor market.

The kiwi was also higher against the euro, with EUR/NZD edging down 0.22% to 1.5001.

Investors expect the U.S. to release data on the consumer price index, as well as reports on initial jobless claims and durable goods orders.