Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar held steady against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, hovering within close distance of a three-year low as markets were jittery ahead of highly anticipated policy statements due by the Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
NZD/USD hit 0.7482 during late Asian trade, the pair's highest since January 23; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7456.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7398, the low of January 26 and a three-year low and resistance at 0.7533, the high of January 23.
Investors were looking ahead to the outcome of Wednesday’s Fed meeting, with the bank expected to stick to its pledge to be patient on tightening monetary policy.
Separately, the RBNZ was expected to leave its benchmark interest rate at a record low 0.25% later Wednesday. Market participants were also eyeing an upcoming report on the country's trade balance.
The kiwi was lower against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD advancing 0.72% to 1.0724.
Also Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that consumer price inflation rose 0.2% in the last quarter, below expectations for a 0.3% gain, after an increase of 0.5% in the three months to September.
Year-on-year, Australian CPI increased by 1.7% in the three months to December, compared to expectations for a 1.8% rise and down from a 2.3% gain in the third quarter of 2014.
The report also showed that Australia's trimmed mean consumer price inflation, which excludes the most volatile 30% of items, rose 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2014, exceeding expectations for a 0.5% gain, after a 0.4% uptick in the previous quarter.