Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar slid lower against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, as markets were jittery ahead of upcoming policy statements from both the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand later in the day.
NZD/USD hit 0.6472 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.6482, shedding 0.28%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.6423, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 0.6554, the high of January 22.
The Fed is expected to keep interest rate on hold at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting later Wednesday after raising interest rates for the first time in almost a decade in December.
Investors were looking to the Fed policy statement for any indication that the bank is considering slowing the path of interest rate increases this year after recent global financial market turmoil.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s central bank is expected to keep rates on hold, but to indicate that further rate cuts may be necessary.
The kiwi was lower against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD climbing 0.61% to 1.0843.
Earlier Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said the consumer price index rose 0.4% in the fourth quarter, beating expectations for an uptick of 0.3%, after a 0.5% increase in the three months to September.
Year-on-year, consumer prices rose 1.7% in the last quarter, exceeding expectations for a 1.6% gain.