The New Zealand dollar steadied around $0.591 on Monday after falling 0.6% to an over one-week low on Friday as the US dollar strengthened following hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh. In his first major speech since taking over as Fed chair in May, Warsh indicated that further interest rate increases may be necessary to contain inflation, prompting traders to increase bets on a September rate hike. The shift in US rate expectations outweighed support for the kiwi dollar from expectations of further policy tightening by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. The RBNZ is widely expected to deliver another quarter-point rate hike at its meeting later this week, with most economists anticipating one more hike, potentially taking the rate to 3% or higher by December. On the data front, New Zealand’s business confidence eased slightly in August from July’s five-month high but remained strong overall.