Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar rose against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, pulling away from almost two-month lows reached after recent comments by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand as the Federal Reserve's policy statement dented demand for the greenback.
NZD/USD hit 0.8518 during early European trade, the pair's highest since July 29; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8505, adding 0.16%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8463, Wednesday's low and resistance at 0.8557, the high of July 29.
The New Zealand dollar had been under broad selling pressure since the Reserve Bank of New Zealand last week raised its benchmark interest rate to 3.50% from 3.25%, but signaled that rates will not go any higher this year.
On Wednesday, the Fed’s latest rate statement said that considerable slack still remains in the labor market, despite the recent improvement in jobs growth, and that rates will remain on hold for longer.
The central bank also said inflation is rising and was moving closer to its long-term target.
The dollar had strengthened broadly after official data showed that U.S. gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 4.0% in the three months to June, outstripping forecasts of 3.0%.
The kiwi was higher against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD shedding 0.31% to 1.0954.
Also Thursday, official data showed that building approvals in Australia dropped 5.0% last month, compared to expectations for a 2.0% decline. Building approvals for May were revised to an increase of 10.3% from a previously estimated 9.9% rise.
A separate report showed that Australia's import prices fell 3.0% in the second quarter, after a 3.2% rise in the three months to April. Analysts had expected import prices to drop 1.3% in the last quarter.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the weekly report on initial jobless claims, as well as data on manufacturing activity in the Chicago area.