Kiwi rebounds from two-week low ahead of Powell

The New Zealand dollar tilted higher in Asian trade off February 13 lows after earlier data from New Zealand and ahead of US data. 

As of 02:20 GMT, NZD/USD rose 0.09% to 0.6894, with an intraday high at 0.6902, and a low at 0.6884. 

Earlier New Zealand data showed the trade deficit at 914 million, compared to a surplus of 12 million in December. 

Now markets await US trade data as well, with deficit expected up to $75.3 billion, while whole sale inventories are estimated up 0.4%. 

Pending home sales are estimated up 0.8%, while factory orders are expected up 1.5%. 

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell asserted the continued health of the economy is his testimony ahead of Congress today. 

However, he pointed to mixed signals in the last few months on the US-China trade dispute and the weakness in inflation. 

All of these explain the Fed's path of patience this year and avoiding rate hikes for a few meetings.