The New Zealand and Australian dollars were higher against their U.S. counterpart on
Tuesday, as demand for the latter was under pressure after the
previous session's downbeat U.S. manufacturing data.
NZD/USD hit 0.6599 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.6595, climbing 0.49%.
The greenback lost ground after the Institute for Supply Management reported on Monday that its index of purchasing managers dropped to 52.7 in June compared with a reading of 53.5 in June. Economists had expected the manufacturing PMI to hold steady at 53.5 in July.
The Aussie has been supported by an upbeat report from Australia with AUD/NZD surging 0.75% to 1.1186.
AUD/USD was last at 1.25% to 0.7375.
Earlier Tuesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that retail sales climbed by 0.7% in June, beating expectations for a 0.5% gain. Retail sales rose 0.4% in May, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 0.3% uptick.
A separate report signaled that Australia's trade deficit narrowed to A$2.93 billion in June from A$2.68 billion in May, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of A$2.75 billion. Economists' expectations were that deficit would widen to A$3.10 billion in June.
At the same time, the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to hold its benchmark interest rate at 2.00%, matching expectations.
The central bank commented that monetary policy needs to be accommodative and that low interest rates are directed to supporting borrowing and spending.
