On Tuesday the New Zealand dollar edged higher against its U.S. counterpart, hovering close to a two-month peak as sentiment on the
greenback remained fragile, although downbeat Chinese manufacturing
activity data capped gains.
The Australian dollar declined versus the dollar, weighed by disappointing Chinese manufacturing data.
NZD/USD hit 0.7676 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7658, adding 0.12%. The pair was likely to find support at 0.7545, Monday's low and resistance at 0.7712, the high of January 21.
The greenback was pressured amid uncertainty over the path of U.S. monetary policy after the Federal Reserve downgraded its forecasts for growth and inflation and lowered its interest rate projections last week.
AUD/USD hit 0.7839 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7870, slipping 0.13%. The pair was likely to find support at 0.7760, Monday's low and resistance at 0.8026, the high of January 28.
Earlier, data indicated that Chinese manufacturing activity swung into contraction territory this month, as the HSBC (LONDON:HSBA) Flash Manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index fell to an 11-month low of 49.2 from a reading of 50.7 in February, compared to expectations for a downtick to 50.6.
China is Australia's biggest export partner and the second biggest export partner for New Zealand.
The kiwi was higher against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD shedding 0.26% to 1.0270.
Investors expect the U.S. to issue reports on consumer inflation and new home sales.
