2020.02.2506:40:00UTC+00NZ Dollar Drops On Rising Risk Aversion

The NZ dollar drifted lower against its major trading partners in the Asian session on Tuesday, as most Asian shares fell following the weak cues from Wall Street amid fears that the spread of coronavirus outbreak to regions outside China will hurt global growth.

As fears mounted, the World Health Organization has praised China's aggressive efforts to wrest the epidemic under control.

While growing outbreaks in Iran, Italy and South Korea heightened concerns, the number of cases in China has begun to decline.

Whereas the death toll rose to seven in Italy on Monday, several Middle East countries reported their first cases.

The kiwi declined to 0.6331 against the greenback, from a 5-day high of 0.6358 hit at 9:45 pm ET. The kiwi is seen finding support around the 0.62 region.

After a brief uptick to 70.53 against the yen at 8:45 pm ET, the kiwi pulled back to 70.15. The next possible support for the kiwi is seen around the 68.00 level.

The kiwi pared gains to 1.0438 against the aussie and 1.7141 against the euro, from a high of 1.0411 and a 4-day high of 1.7084, respectively hit in early deals. On the downside, 1.06 and 1.74 are possibly seen as the next support levels for the kiwi against the aussie and the euro, respectively.

Looking ahead, U.S. consumer confidence index for February, S&P/Case-Shiller home price index and FHFA house price index for December are due out in the New York session.