Forexpros – The New Zealand dollar was higher against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, as risk appetite found support on reports the European Central Bank could resume bond purchases but the kiwi remained vulnerable amid sustained euro zone debt worries.
NZD/USD hit 0.8228 during late Asian trade, the pair’s highest since April 10; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8209, adding 0.39%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8138, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 0.8261, the high of April 3.
The risk-related kiwi found support after an ECB policymaker said on Wednesday the bank still has its bond-buying program as an option, adding that the scale of market pressure on Spain is not justified given the reforms being undertaken by its government.
Meanwhile, investors were jittery as Italy was preparing to sell EUR5 billion of three-year government bonds later in the day, after seeing its one-year borrowing costs rise for the first time since November in a poorly received debt sale on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, the kiwi was lower against the Australian dollar with AUD/NZD rising 0.55%, to hit 1.2657.
Also Thursday, official data showed that the Australian economy added 44,000 jobs in March, beating expectations for a 6,400 rise and following a 15,400 decline the previous month.
The report also showed that Australia’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.2% in March, better than expectations for a rise to 5.3%.
The data came after a report by the Melbourne Institute showed that inflation expectations for Australia rose to 3.3% from 2.7% in February.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on the trade balance and initial unemployment claims.
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