Forexpros – The New Zealand dollar was lower against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke refrained from indicating if the U.S. central bank is considering near-term monetary stimulus measures.
NZD/USD hit 0.7946 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7952, shedding 0.36%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7883, last Friday’s low and resistance at 0.8003, Tuesday’s high.
In testimony on the economy and monetary policy to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Bernanke delivered a negative assessment of the outlook for the U.S. economy.
He said growth had lost momentum in the first half of the year and added that progress on cutting the U.S. unemployment rate was “frustratingly” slow.
However, he refrained from indicating whether the Fed would embark on a third round of quantitative easing to stimulate the economy, but reiterated that the central bank was prepared to take further action to support the economic recovery if necessary.
The kiwi was lower against its Australian cousin, with AUD/NZD up 0.24% to 1.2952 and was also weaker against the yen, with NZD/JPY down 0.46% to 62.80.
Later Wednesday, Ben Bernanke was to testify in front of the House Financial Services Committee. In addition, the U.S. was to publish official data on building permits and housing starts.
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