NZ dollar falls as data buoys greenback, commodities weaken

The New Zealand dollar has fallen 15% against the greenback so far this year, reflecting weaker economic growth, falling dairy prices, lower interest rates and a pick up in the US. Photo / NZME.

The New Zealand dollar fell as better-than-expected US durable goods data supported the greenback and commodity currencies weakened.

The kiwi dropped to 64.30 US cents at 8am in Wellington, from 64.93 cents at 5pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index declined to 69.61 from 70.12 yesterday.

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, climbed after US durable goods orders printed stronger than expected in July, up 2 percent from the previous month compared with expectations for a 0.4 percent decline, suggesting US business investment is continuing to improve in the third quarter.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials slid to a fresh multi-year low, weighing on commodity-linked currencies such as the Norwegian krone, and the Canadian, Aussie and kiwi dollars.

The New Zealand dollar "fell overnight as the US durable goods data came in significantly better than expectations," ANZ Bank New Zealand senior economist Sharon Zollner and senior FX strategist Sam Tuck said in a note. "We expect the US dollar to remain in demand."

US second-quarter GDP data due out tonight is expected to be revised higher, to an annual 3.2 percent rate from a previous estimate of 2.3 percent.

ANZ expects the kiwi to trade between 63.30 US cents and 65 cents today.

The New Zealand dollar slipped to 90.32 Australian cents from 91.03 cents yesterday ahead of Australian second-quarter capital expenditure data today.

The local currency slipped to 56.72 euro cents from 56.49 cents yesterday, advanced to 41.55 British pence from 41.35 pence, weakened to 77.08 yen from 77.63 yen and dropped to 4.1213 yuan from 4.1627 yuan.