Forexpros – The New Zealand dollar dropped to a more than three-month low against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, as the results of Sunday’s elections in Greece and France raised fresh concerns that the euro zone’s austerity steps could fall apart.
NZD/USD hit 0.7907 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since January 13; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7931, retreating 0.28%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7864, the low of January 13 and resistance at 0.7979, the high of January 12.
In Greece, neither of the two pro-bailout parties secured enough votes to form a majority in parliament, as voters favored smaller parties who campaigned against the harsh government austerity program, throwing the future of the country’s international bailout agreement into doubt.
Meanwhile, in France President Nicolas Sarkozy was defeated by socialist candidate Fran?ois Hollande, who has been critical of the country’s austerity program.
The kiwi was fractionally lower against the Australian dollar with AUD/NZD edging up 0.08%, to hit 1.2808.
Also Monday, official data showed that retail sales in Australia rose more-than-expected in March, adding 0.9% after a 0.3% rise the previous month.
The data came after a separate report showed that building approvals in Australia jumped 7.4% in March, above expectations for a 3.2% rise and following an 8.8% decline the previous month.
Data also showed that Australia’s index of business confidence rose from 3 to 4 last month, while job advertisements fell 3.1% after a 0.7% rise in March.
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