NZ dollar falls as Fed's Powell talks up US economic oulook

NZ dollar falls as Fed's Powell talks up US economic oulook
Paul McBeth
By Paul McBeth Feb. 28 (BusinessDesk) - The New Zealand dollar fell as Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell gave an upbeat assessment of the US economy, stoking expectations for US interest rates to rise and prompting stocks on Wall Street to decline.  The kiwi dropped to 72.43 US cents as at 8am in Wellington from 72.76 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index decreased to 74.51 from 74.61 yesterday.  In his first Congressional testimony as Fed chair, Powell stuck to the official view that interest rate increases will be "gradual". Ho...