NZ dollar gains ahead of Bernanke speech, US retail sales, FOMC minutes loom

NZ dollar gains ahead of Bernanke speech, US retail sales, FOMC minutes loom
By Paul McBeth Nov. 20 (BusinessDesk) - The New Zealand dollar gained ahead of a speech by outgoing Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, and as US data and minutes to the last Fed policy meeting loom. The kiwi rose to 83.43 US cents at 8am in Wellington from 83.10 cents at 5pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index advanced to 77.79 from 77.55 yesterday. Investors are awaiting Bernanke’s speech on communications and monetary policy to the National Economic Club on Tuesday in Washington, where they will be looking for hints on when the Fed...