(MENAFN- FxPro) The New Zealand dollar was almost unchanged against its U.S. counterpart on Monday, trading at a 5-year trough as mounting concerns over a possible Greek default dented demand for risk-related assets.
NZD/USD hit 0.6787 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since June 2010; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.6843.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.6568 and resistance at 0.6912, Friday's high.
Markets were jittery after last ditch Greek debt negotiations broke down over the weekend, bringing the country a step closer to a debt default ahead of a looming deadline for a repayment to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday.
Greece's bailout is due to expire on Tuesday, the same day that Athens is due to repay ‚¬1.6 billion to the IMF, but without a rescue package in place Greece will almost certainly default.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras abandoned negotiations with creditors on Saturday and called for a referendum to be held on July 5 on the terms proposed by lenders for extending the country's bailout.
European finance ministers refused a request from the Greek government
to extend the bailout program until after the referendum.
A Greek official said Monday that banks would remain closed for six days starting on Monday to avert a crisis in the banking sector after deposit outflows accelerated over the weekend. Withdrawals at ATM machines were to be limited to ‚¬60 a day per account.
The greenback also remained supported after data on Friday showed that consumer sentiment jumped higher this month, bolstering the outlook for higher interest rates.
The final reading of the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 96.1 from 90.7 in May and up from the preliminary reading of 94.6.
The kiwi was steady against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD at 1.1193.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on pending home sales.
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