The New Zealand dollar followed its trans-Tasman counterpart lower after weaker than expected Australian economic data weighed on the outlook for the two, and as investors continued to back the greenback.
The kiwi fell to 77.71 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 77.91 cents at 8am, down 78.76 cents yesterday. The currency was little changed at 92.56 Australian cents from 92.53 cents yesterday.
The Australian dollar dropped almost three-quarters of a US cent, and was trading at 83.92 US cents, after Bureau of Statistics figures showed Australian gross domestic product grew 0.3 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30, short of the 0.7 percent expected by economists.
That weighed on the New Zealand dollar, which had already been put under pressure by a fall in dairy prices at the latest GlobalDairyTrade auction and as support for the greenback grew after Federal Reserve vice chairman Stanley Fischer said the Fed was coming close to removing its pledge to keep rates low for 'a considerable time'.
"Aussie GDP was weaker than expected - people expected it to be strong and it went the other way," said Imre Speizer, senior market strategist at Westpac Banking Corp in Auckland. "The kiwi looks like it wants to head down to 77 cents and give that a test."
