On Wednesday the Aussie slipped against a broadly stronger greenback, while the kiwi was higher boosted by positive data from New Zealand.
Earlier Wednesday, Statistics New Zealand said that the trade deficit expanded to NZ$649 million in July from NZ$194 million in June, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of NZ$60 million. Economists had expected the trade deficit to widen to NZ$750 million last month.
NZD/USD hit 0.6513 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.6489.
The kiwi was higher against the euro, with EUR/NZD dropping 0.55% to 1.7691 and versus the Aussie with AUD/NZD sliding 0.35% to 1.0975.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar was lower vs the greenback.
AUD/USD hit 0.7097 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since Monday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7121.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Wednesday that construction work done rose by 1.6% in the second quarter, beating expectations for a 1.5% fall. Construction work done dipped by 0.8% in the the first quarter, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 2.4% drop.
But the greenback remained broadly supported after the U.S. Conference Board said on Tuesday that its index of consumer confidence jumped to a seven-month high of 101.5 this month from a reading of 91.0 in July.
The U.S. dollar was also boosted after the People’s Bank of China cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.6% on Tuesday, in an effort to drive economic growth after a plunge in the country’s stock market.
