Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar was almost unchanged against its U.S. counterpart in light trade on Monday, after the release of higher than expected producer price inflation data from New Zealand, while demand for the greenback remained under pressure.
NZD/USD hit 0.8654 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8636, inching up 0.03%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.8593, the low of May 2 and resistance at 0.8695, the high of May 15.
Official data showed that producer price inflation input in New Zealand rose 1% in the first quarter, above expectations for a 0.4% rise, after a 0.7% fall in the three months to December.
PPI output in New Zealand rose 0.9% in the last quarter, exceeding expectations for a 0.7% gain, after a 0.4% slip in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained under pressure after a weaker-than-expected report on U.S. consumer sentiment offset a report showing that U.S. home construction rose strongly in April.
Data on Friday showed that the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index dropped to 81.8, from 84.1 the month before. Analysts had expected a slight uptick to 84.5.
The kiwi was steady against the euro, with EUR/NZD adding 0.06% to 1.5874.