KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand dollar was pulled lower today by the Australian dollar, after Australia's central bank left interest rates on hold and appeared finished with rate rises.
By 5pm, the kiwi was at US72.60c from US72.86c late yesterday. With the aussie also falling, the kiwi gained ground against it to A78.63c from A78.14c yesterday afternoon.
"Both aussie and kiwi are slightly lower, obviously the RBA's a little bit like the RBNZ and left the door open for easings in the shorter term," said ANZ Institutional Bank chief foreign exchange dealer Murray Hindley.
"Maybe tonight should see a little bit of pressure on both."
The kiwi had traded between US72.50c and US72.88c today. It was little changed against the euro and yen, and a touch firmer against sterling.
The US dollar rose to a seven-week high against a basket of major currencies, drawing support from a sharp drop in oil prices that had also pushed the aussie down to a four-month low.
Investors also braced for the Federal Reserve's policy decision later, with the focus on the central bank's post-meeting statement for clues on the monetary policy outlook.
The Fed is widely expected to keep benchmark interest rates steady at 2.0 per cent in the face of higher risks of inflation and threats to economic growth.
The Bank of England and European Central Bank also meet this week.
Reuters currency rates:
NZ dlr/US dlr US72.60c US72.86c
NZ dlr/Aust dlr A78.63c A78.14c
NZ dlr/euro 0.4674 0.4677
NZ dlr/yen 78.54 78.55
NZ dlr/stg 37.04p 36.92p
NZ TWI 65.53 65.56
Australian dollar US92.46c US93.23c
Euro/US dollar 1.5533 1.5578
US dollar/yen 108.15 107.78
- NZPA
