The New Zealand dollar has risen more than 1% against the U. S. dollar on Tuesday as the investors sold the Australian dollar against the New Zealand counterpart. The Australian dollar for now has slid in Asian trading followed by the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to keep interest rates on hold.

The Australian dollar went down quickly in the early afternoon after Australia’s central bank, kept rates on hold at 4.75%, in response to the signs of weakening economy. Notably after the decision the currency had slid by 1%.

Mentioning the potential currency implications of the speech, Westpac chief foreign exchange strategist Rob Rennie said, "I think the risks are still to the downside." He also added further saying that if the Bernanke signals that there won’t be another round of quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve; then there are chances of Australian dollar to drop further.

Earlier, at 0615 GMT, the Australian dollar was changing hands at US$1.0689, rapidly down from above US$1.0740 before the decision and US$1.0736 late Monday. Against the Japanese yen, the Australian dollar was at Y85.855, down from Y86.21.