Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar dropped to three-and-a-half week lows against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, as demand for the greenback remained broadly supported by sustained optimism over the U.S. economic recovery.
NZD/USD hit 0.7730 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since November 11; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7746, slipping 0.20%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7710, the low of November 11 and resistance at 0.7810, Wednesday's high.
The greenback found further support on Wednesday after the Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing manager's index rose to 59.3 last month from a reading of 57.1 in October. Analysts had expected the index to inch up to 57.5 in November.
The kiwi was steady against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD dipping 0.06% to 1.0819.
Also Thursday, official data showed that Australian retail sales rose 0.4% in October, more than the expected 0.1% gain. Retail sales in September were revised to an increase of 1.3% from a previously estimated 1.2% rise.
A separate report showed that Australia's trade deficit narrowed to A$1.132 billion in October from A$2.23 billion in September, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit A$2.26 billion.
Analysts had expected the trade deficit to narrow to A$1.81 billion in October.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the weekly report on initial jobless claims.