Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar was almost unchanged against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, as investors eyed an Italian government bond auction later in the day, while concerns over Spain’s financial crisis and political uncertainty in Greece weighed.
NZD/USD hit 0.7788 during late Asian trade, the pair’s highest since May 15; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7772, inching up 0.01%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7680, the low of May 15 and resistance at 0.7825, the high of May 14.
Investors remained cautious as Italy’s Treasury was preparing to sell up to EUR6.5 billion of 364-day bills later in the day, followed by a longer-maturity debt auction on Thursday. Attention recently shifted to Italy’s financial difficulties after Spain became the fourth euro zone country to seek a bailout.
Market sentiment weakened after Spanish 10-year bonds climbed to a record high of 6.82% on Tuesday, while the yield on Italian 10-year bonds rose to 6.27%, moving closer to the critical 7% threshold which precipitated bailouts in Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
Elsewhere, the kiwi was also steady against the Australian dollar with AUD/NZD inching down 0.07%, to hit 1.2803.
Also Wednesday, a report by the Westpac Banking Corporation showed that consumer sentiment in Australia rose 0.3% in June, after a 0.8% increase the previous month.
Later in the day, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand was to announce its benchmark interest rate, followed by the bank’s rate statement and a press conference. RBNZ Governor Alan Bollard was also due to speak before the Parliament's Finance Select Committee.
In the U.S., official data on retail sales and producer price inflation was to be released.
NZD/USD hit 0.7788 during late Asian trade, the pair’s highest since May 15; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7772, inching up 0.01%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7680, the low of May 15 and resistance at 0.7825, the high of May 14.
Investors remained cautious as Italy’s Treasury was preparing to sell up to EUR6.5 billion of 364-day bills later in the day, followed by a longer-maturity debt auction on Thursday. Attention recently shifted to Italy’s financial difficulties after Spain became the fourth euro zone country to seek a bailout.
Market sentiment weakened after Spanish 10-year bonds climbed to a record high of 6.82% on Tuesday, while the yield on Italian 10-year bonds rose to 6.27%, moving closer to the critical 7% threshold which precipitated bailouts in Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
Elsewhere, the kiwi was also steady against the Australian dollar with AUD/NZD inching down 0.07%, to hit 1.2803.
Also Wednesday, a report by the Westpac Banking Corporation showed that consumer sentiment in Australia rose 0.3% in June, after a 0.8% increase the previous month.
Later in the day, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand was to announce its benchmark interest rate, followed by the bank’s rate statement and a press conference. RBNZ Governor Alan Bollard was also due to speak before the Parliament's Finance Select Committee.
In the U.S., official data on retail sales and producer price inflation was to be released.