NZ Dollar Falls Amid RBNZ Rate Cut Speculation

(RTTNews) - The New Zealand dollar weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Wednesday, as traders speculate that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand or RBNZ is likely to cut its interest rate at its upcoming meeting next week.

Due to a slowing economy and confidence that inflation is under control, the RBNZ decided at its October meeting to lower its Official Cash Rate (OCR) by an excessive 50 basis points (bps) to 2.5 percent.

In anticipation of potential Fed action, traders await the postponed U.S. September jobs report on Thursday.

Later today, traders will be watching the FOMC Minutes.

In the Asian trading today, the NZ dollar fell to a 5-day low of 2.0581 against the euro, from Tuesday's closing value of 2.0465. The kiwi may test support near the 2.06 region.

Against the U.S. and the Australian dollars, the kiwi dropped to a 9-day low of 0.5628 and a 2-day low of 1.1523 from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.5659 and 1.1502, respectively. If the kiwi extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 0.55 against the greenback and 1.16 against the aussie.

The kiwi edged down to 87.41 against the yen, from Tuesday's closing value of 88.01. On the downside, 85.00 is seen as the next support level for the kiwi.

Looking ahead, the Office for National Statistics releases UK consumer prices for October is due to be released in the pre-European session at 2:00 am ET. Economists forecast inflation to ease to 3.5 percent from 3.8 percent in September.

In the European session, Eurozone current account data for September and CPI data for October are slated for release.

In the New York session, U.S. MBA mortgage approvals data, U.S. trade data for August and U.S. EIA crude oil data are set to be released.