Forex - NZD/USD almost unchanged after RBNZ rate statement

Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar was almost unchanged against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand held interest rates, while recent signs of a strong U.S. economic recovery continued to support demand for the greenback.

NZD/USD hit 0.8202 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8184, easing up 0.04%.

The pair was likely to find support at 0.8152, the low of November 23 and resistance at 0.8234, the high of December 30.

In a widely expected move, the RBNZ left the benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low of 2.50%.

The kiwi weakened however, as central bank officials threatened to cut interest rates in the future, if the currency appreciates unreasonably.

Meanwhile, the greenback remained supported after positive U.S. retail sales data on Wednesday added to optimism that the country's recovery is gaining traction after data last week showed that the economy added more jobs than expected in February, bringing the unemployment rate to a four-year low of 7.7%.

The Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales rose 1.1% in February, beating expectations for a 0.5% increase, while core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, climbed 1.0% compared to expectations for a 0.2% gain.

The kiwi was sharply lower against the Australian dollar with AUD/NZD climbing 0.62%, to hit 1.2663.

Also Thursday, official data showed that the Australian economy added 71,500 jobs in February, exceeding expectations for a 9,000 rise, after an increase of 13,000 jobs the previous month.

The report also showed that the unemployment rate in Australia remained unchanged at 5.4% last month, compared to expectations for a rise to 5.5%.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release government data on producer price inflation and the weekly government report on initial jobless claims.