KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand dollar stuck to a narrow range ahead of a United States holiday, but managed to sink to a new seven-year low against the Australian dollar.
By 5pm, the kiwi was at US75.61c from US76.03c late yesterday afternoon, and lost ground against the Aussie to A78.60c from A79.04c.
"Obviously with New York closing early today with the July 4 holiday, and (closed) tomorrow in New York, I would expect the London session to be quiet, and we've had a very, very narrow trading range," said ANZ Institutional Bank chief dealer Murray Hindley.
The kiwi traded between US75.41-65c.
The next batch of key data is retail sales and consumer inflation figures on July 14 and 15 respectively. The NZIER quarterly business survey next Tuesday will also be of interest, Mr Hindley said.
The kiwi gained against the euro and yen, and lost a touch against sterling, while the Aussie inched up to US96.21c from US96.18c late yesterday.
The US dollar held onto most of yesterday's gains against the euro after employment data largely met expectations, easing some fears about the health of the US job market and economy.
The greenback had also climbed against the euro on Thursday as European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet cooled speculation of more interest rate hikes, when it raised rates to 4.25 per cent from 4 per cent as expected.
- NZPA
