NZ Dollar Falls As Dairy Prices Drop

The New Zealand dollar weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Wednesday, after dairy product prices fell in the Global Dairy Trade auction held overnight.

The GDT price index fell 0.4 percent overnight from the previous auction two weeks ago to US$3,339. This was the fourth decline in five auctions. Whole milk powder slid 0.6 percent to US$3,143 a tonne.

Tuesday, the NZ dollar showed mixed trading against its major rivals. While the NZ dollar fell against the U.S. dollar and the euro, it rose against the yen and the Australian dollar.

In the Asian trading, the NZ dollar fell to a 14-month low of 1.6246 against the euro, a 5-week low of 0.7223 against the U.S. dollar and a 6-day low of 1.0839 against the Australian dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.6219, 0.7235 and 1.0806, respectively. If the kiwi extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 1.65 against the euro, 0.71 against the greenback, and 1.09 against the aussie.

Against the yen, the kiwi dropped to 79.94 from yesterday's closing value of 80.05. The kiwi may test support near the 78.00 region.

Looking ahead, U.K. unemployment data for June and Eurozone flash GDP data for the second quarter are due to be released later in the day.

In the New York session, U.S. housing starts and building permits, both for July, and U.S. crude oil inventories data are slated for release.

At 2:00 pm ET, U.S. Federal Reserve is scheduled to publish minutes of its most recent monetary policy meeting.