Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar rose against its U.S. counterpart on the coattails of strong first-quarter economic growth rates.
NZD/USD hit 0.7988 in Asian trading on Thursday, up 0.31%, up from a session low of 0.7948 and off from a high of 0.8016.
The pair sought to test support at 0.7917, the low of June 20, and resistance at 0.8016, the high of June 20.
The New Zealand gross domestic product grew 1.1% in the first quarter of this year, well above expectations for 0.5% growth thanks to robust agriculture and manufacturing sectors.
The New Zealand economy grew 0.4% in the fourth quarter of last year.
The news helped to offset sluggish balance of payments data released a day earlier, when the government reported that the country posted a seasonally adjusted current account deficit of NZD2.8 billion in the first quarter, up NZD0.6 billion from the fourth quarter of 2011.
For the year ended March 2012, the current account deficit was 4.8% of GDP, compared with 3.7% for the year ended March 2011.
The New Zealand dollar, meanwhile, was up against the yen and up against its Australian counterpart, with NZD/JPY gaining 0.25% to 63.50 and AUD/NZD down 0.35% at 1.2753.
Later Thursday, New Zealand will release credit-card spending data and tourism numbers.
NZD/USD hit 0.7988 in Asian trading on Thursday, up 0.31%, up from a session low of 0.7948 and off from a high of 0.8016.
The pair sought to test support at 0.7917, the low of June 20, and resistance at 0.8016, the high of June 20.
The New Zealand gross domestic product grew 1.1% in the first quarter of this year, well above expectations for 0.5% growth thanks to robust agriculture and manufacturing sectors.
The New Zealand economy grew 0.4% in the fourth quarter of last year.
The news helped to offset sluggish balance of payments data released a day earlier, when the government reported that the country posted a seasonally adjusted current account deficit of NZD2.8 billion in the first quarter, up NZD0.6 billion from the fourth quarter of 2011.
For the year ended March 2012, the current account deficit was 4.8% of GDP, compared with 3.7% for the year ended March 2011.
The New Zealand dollar, meanwhile, was up against the yen and up against its Australian counterpart, with NZD/JPY gaining 0.25% to 63.50 and AUD/NZD down 0.35% at 1.2753.
Later Thursday, New Zealand will release credit-card spending data and tourism numbers.