Currency: Dollar lifts off low against US

The New Zealand dollar recovered from early weakness today but risk aversion meant it remained subdued.

By 5pm, the kiwi was at US49.76c from US50.25c late yesterday afternoon, having hit a low of US49.17c during the day.

Against the aussie, the kiwi fell to A77.90c from A78.50c. The currency was weaker against the euro and yen, but firmed against sterling.

"We saw a little bit of a weaker move in line with the Dow (Jones Index) this morning, but through the Asian session it's retraced back into the middle of the range, it's going to close on its session highs," said Murray Hindley, chief foreign exchange dealer at ANZ Institutional Bank.

Risk aversion was still a big driver, ahead of data this week including retail sales and the Reserve Bank's decision on interest rates on Thursday, he said.

The market was pricing in a 0.75 percentage point cut to the official cash rate, which would take it to 2.75 per cent.

Today, Statistics New Zealand said electronic card transactions rose 0.6 per cent in February, seasonally adjusted, the first rise in four months.

The US dollar fell against the euro and other major currencies today, losing some of its sharp gains yesterday, while the yen slipped across the board amid worries about Japan's economy.

The US currency gained steeply against sterling in particular on Monday as worries about global recession and the financial sector sent investors looking for a safe haven.

Currency rates:

5pm today 5pm yesterday

NZ dlr/US dlr US49.76c US50.25c

NZ dlr/Aust dlr A77.90c A78.50c

NZ dlr/euro 0.3925 0.3966

NZ dlr/yen 49.22 49.25

NZ dlr/stg 35.94p 35.58p

NZ TWI 51.51 51.86

Aust dlr/US dlr 63.90c 63.95c

Euro/US dlr 1.2675 1.2679

US dlr/yen 98.91 98.07

- NZPA