NZ Dollar Falls After RBNZ Holds Rate Steady; Signals No Imminent Rate Change

The New Zealand dollar lost ground against its major opponents in the Asian session on Thursday, as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept its Official Cash Rate unchanged at a record low for the 10th straight meeting and said the direction of the next move is equally balanced and could be up or down.

The RBNZ left interest rates unchanged at 1.75 percent. The decision was in line with expectations.

The global economy has continued to improve in recent months, RBNZ Governor Graeme Wheeler noted.

The central bank said it expects to keep the OCR at "this expansionary level for a considerable period of time."

The direction of the next move is finely balanced, which could be either up or down, the bank said.

Meanwhile, Asian stock markets rose, with energy stocks leading the surge as oil extended rally to reach 3-1/2-year highs on supply worries.

The kiwi slipped to a 10-day low of 1.7181 against the euro and a 2-1/2-month low of 1.0811 against the aussie, off its early highs of 1.6977 and 1.0681, respectively. The kiwi is likely to find support around 1.73 against the euro and 1.09 against the aussie.

Reversing from its early highs of 0.6980 against the greenback and 76.57 against the yen, the kiwi declined to a 5-month low of 0.6903 and near a 2-month low of 75.82, respectively. The next possible support for the kiwi is seen around 0.68 against the greenback and 74.00 against the yen.

Looking ahead, U.K. construction output, industrial production and trade data for March are due in the European session.

At 7:00 am ET, the Bank of England announces decision on interest rate. Economists expect the central bank to keep interest rate at 0.50 percent and asset purchase program at GBP 435 billion.

In the New York session, Canada new housing price index for March, U.S. CPI for April, weekly jobless claims for the week ended May 5 and monthly budget statement are scheduled for release.