The New Zealand dollar strengthened against most major currencies during Wednesday trading following the release of upbeat employment data.

Government figures showed that the employment change index in New Zealand declined by 0.1% in the second quarter, in line with expectations.

The data also revealed that the unemployment rate in New Zealand rose to 5.2% in Q2, up from 5.1% in Q1, while analysts had forecast a higher increase to 5.3%.

In trading, the New Zealand dollar rose by 0.5% against the US dollar to $0.5933 as of 21:03 GMT.

Australian Dollar

The Australian dollar also climbed, rising by 0.4% against the US dollar to $0.6503 as of 21:03 GMT.

US Dollar

The US Dollar Index fell by 0.6% to 98.2 as of 20:48 GMT, after reaching a high of 98.8 and a low of 98.1.

Earlier today, the White House announced that the United States will impose an additional 25% tariff on imports from India, bringing total tariffs on this key trade partner to 50%.

In an executive order, President Donald Trump stated: I find that the government of India is currently, directly or indirectly, importing oil from the Russian Federation.

Meanwhile, the President of Switzerland stated that trade talks with the US Secretary of State were productive, although no agreement was reached.