Investing.com - The New Zealand and Australian dollars gained ground against their U.S. counterpart on Thursday, after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the U.S. Federal Reserve both left interest rates unchanged.
NZD/USD rallied 1.02% to 0.6955, the highest since April 21.
In a widely expected move, the RBNZ left its benchmark interest rate at 2.25% at the conclusion of its monthly policy meeting.
The New Zealand central bank said that "monetary policy will continue to be accommodative" and added that “further policy easing may be required to ensure that future average inflation settles near the middle of the target range.”
AUD/USD gained 0.46% to trade at 0.7635.
Meanwhile, the greenback moved broadly lower after the Fed left interest rates unchanged close to zero on Wednesday and offered little guidance on future rate hikes.
In a statement released following its two-day meeting, the U.S. central bank said it will continue to "closely monitor inflation indicators and global economic and financial developments."
Separately, markets were surprised by the Bank of Japan’s decision on Thursday to leave its current policy unchanged, quashing expectations for additional stimulus measures.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.55% at 93.86, the lowest since April 21.