Kiwi slips as rate-hike talk ebbs, Aussie struggles on mixed data

SYDNEY, Feb 13 (Reuters) – The New Zealand dollar slipped on Tuesday after an easing in inflation expectations trimmed some of the bets around a possible rate hike, while the Australian dollar struggled amid mixed local data. The kiwi dollar fell 0.5% to $0.6098, having also eased 0.3% overnight as the talks of another rate hike faded a little. It now has support at $0.6080, while resistance is at around $0.6150. Data showed on Tuesday that New Zealand’s inflation expectations fell to more than two-year lows in the first quarter, suggesting that the aggressive streak of past rate hikes were able to contain high prices. Two-year swap rates duly retreated to 5.175%, off from its 2-1/2 month high of 5.245%…