Forex - NZD/USD rises to 5-month high on Greek optimism

Forexpros - The New Zealand dollar rose to a five-month high against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, amid hopes of progress in Greek talks over a series of new austerity measures required in return for a second bailout package.

NZD/USD hit 0.8379 during late Asian trade, the pair’s highest since September 5; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.8384, adding 0.32%.

The pair was likely to find support at 0.8313, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 0.8431, the high of August 8.

The risk-related kiwi found support after a Greek official said late Tuesday the government and international creditors were close to a final draft of an agreement on the terms required for a second rescue package.

Greece needs to finalize a debt restructuring deal by early March as part of an agreement to receive a EUR130 billion bailout package.

The greenback also came under pressure after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated that the central bank would keep borrowing costs close to zero for another two years even after data last week showing the U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to a three-year low.

Elsewhere, the kiwi was fractionally higher against the Australian dollar with AUD/NZD inching down 0.01%, to hit 1.2928.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish a government report on crude oil inventories.