The New Zealand dollar held its recent advance to around $0.582 on Friday, as economic uncertainty and growing bets on US rate cuts continued to weigh on the greenback. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday the government shutdown could hurt US economic growth and impact American workers. Also, signs of weakness in the US labor market have reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve could cut rates at its two remaining meetings this year. The kiwi also benefited from profit-taking on short positions against the Australian dollar, which had climbed for eight consecutive weeks to reach a three-year high. Domestically, however, the currency remains under pressure after a run of weak economic data has led traders to price in deeper easing by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. Markets are fully priced for a quarter-point cut to 2.75% next week, with a 44% chance of a larger half-point move. For the week, the kiwi is up about 0.8% so far, on track to snap a two-week losing streak.