Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar fell in early Asia on Wednesday after disappointing trade balance figures with overall FX trade in a narrow range ahead of remarks due at the end of the week from the Fed chief.
NZD/USD traded at 0.7274, down 0.21%, while AUD/USD traded at 0.7614, down 0.01%. USD/JPY changed hands at 100.29, up 0.05%.
In New Zealand, the trade balance for July came in at a deficit of NZ$433 million month-on-month and at a deficit of NZ$3.03 billion year-on-year, both wider than expected.
Ahead in Australia, construction work done is due for the second quarter with a fall of 1.9% seen quarter-on-quarter.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.14% at 94.38.
Overnight, the dollar remained broadly lower against the other major currencies on Tuesday, as investors remained cautious ahead of Friday’s speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
Market participants are waiting to see if Yellen will restate the hawkish view of the economy expressed by Fed officials in recent weeks or echo the minutes of the Fed’s July meeting, which indicated that officials are divided on when to raise rates.
The dollar moved broadly higher after Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer said on Sunday that inflation is within “hailing distance” of the bank’s 2% target.
The comments came after speeches last week from San Francisco Fed head John Williams and New York Fed chief William Dudley indicating that the central bank thinks the economy is strong.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Tuesday that new home sales jumped by 12.4% to 654,000 units last month, compared to expectations for a 2.0% decline.
New home sales in June were revised down to 582,000 units, or a 1.7% gain, from the prior reading of a 3.5% increase to 592,000 units.