Dollar mired near two-month low

The dollar wallowed near two-month lows on Wednesday after weak data supported the view that the Federal Reserve may not need to raise rates much further, while the New Zealand dollar hit two-month highs after a larger-than expected rate hike.

With the all-important US monthly employment report just two days away, activity across the market was a little more subdued than it has been in recent weeks.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand unexpectedly raised interest rates by 50 basis points (bps) to a more than 14-year high of 5.25 per cent. In a Reuters poll, 22 of 24 economists had forecast just a 25 bps hike.

The kiwi rallied by as much as 1.1 per cent to a two-month high of $0.6383 after the decision, before retreating. It was last up 0.1 per cent at $0.6316.