The New Zealand dollar fell against its trans-Tasman counterpart after minutes to this month's Reserve Bank of Australia meeting showed the regulator was more comfortable with the level of the nation's currency.
The kiwi fell to 92.09 Australian cents at 5pm in Wellington from 92.51 cents at 8am and 92.44 cents yesterday. It traded at 83.46 US cents at 5pm from 83.59 cents at 8am, down from 83.72 cents yesterday.
The RBA board noted the Australian dollar's depreciation in recent months, while other major currencies were largely unchanged, according to the minutes to Feb. 4 meeting when the bank kept the key rate unchanged, while dropping its bias for further cuts. Australian central bank officials have been bemoaning the strength of the nation's currency as tripping up a stalling economy. The Australian dollar climbed to 90.61 US cents from 90.33 cents before the release.
"The RBA is not going to try and nudge the currency down any lower, and if they're not going to push the currency down any lower, then punters can push it up," said Imre Speizer, market strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. The RBA minutes made speculative investors more upbeat about the Australian dollar, "and that's why the kiwi has been belted."
US markets were closed yesterday for Presidents' Day holiday and investors will be watching manufacturing and housing figures today after some weaker than expected data in recent weeks due to the extreme winter in the world's biggest economy.
