Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar was higher against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised interest rates by 0.25% and increased its growth estimate for the ending in March.
NZD/USD hit 0.8636 during late Asian trade, the pair's highest since April 17; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8617, rising 0.31%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8566, Wednesday's low and resistance at 0.8690, the high of April 15.
In a widely expected move, the RBNZ raised its benchmark interest rate to 3.00% from 2.75%.
The central bank also said that gross domestic product is estimated to have grown 3.5% in the year to March, compared to the previous month's estimate of 3.3%.
Commenting on the decision, RBNZ Governor Graeme Wheeler said the strong kiwi is helping to contain inflation, though current levels may not be sustainable.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained under pressure after data on Wednesday showed that sales of new homes in the U.S. fell to the lowest level since July 2013 in March.
The Commerce Department reported that sales on new homes dropped 14.5% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 384,000. Market expectations had been for sales rate of 450,000.
The kiwi was higher against the euro, with EUR/NZD shedding 0.26% to 1.6042.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish data on durable goods orders and the weekly report on initial jobless claims.