Kiwi Treads Water Near Two-Week Low Amid Soft Economic Data

The New Zealand dollar has steadied at around $0.585 but remains near its two-week low due to soft economic data raising questions about future Reserve Bank policy tightening.

New Zealand's manufacturing PMI dropped to 54.3 in July from June's 60.1, with the majority of business comments turning negative.

This follows data showing that one-year inflation expectations fell to 2.6% from 3.4% in the previous quarter and two-year measures eased to 2.3% from 2.5%, suggesting contained inflation expectations.

Despite this, traders still see a high probability of a September rate hike as the Reserve Bank repeatedly stressed the need to withdraw policy support.