Kiwi touches six-month low versus US dollar

New Zealand dollar fell in Asian trade to December 8, 2017 lows, following earlier data from New Zealand and and ahead of crucial industrial and employment data from the US. 

As of 03:07 GMT, Kiwi fell 0.51% against the US dollar to 0.6843 from the opening of 0.6878, with an intraday high at 0.6883, and a six-month low at 0.6832. 

Earlier New Zealand data showed the seasonally-adjusted reading for first quarter GDP growth at 0.5% as expected, down from 0.6% in the fourth quarter of last year, while slowing down to 2.7% y/y as expected from 2.9%. 

Now markets await the US Philly Manufacturing data, expected to slip to 28.9 in June from 34.4, while unemployment claims are forecast to have risen 2 thousand to 220 thousand in the week ending June 16. 

Continuing claims are expected to have risen 13 thousand to 1.710 million in the week ending June 9, while the House Price Index is expected to have risen 0.3%, up from 0.1% in March.