NZ dollar little changed ahead of key data

The New Zealand dollar continued to recover from its dip overnight, although it remained confined to a narrow range ahead of key domestic data later this week.

By 5pm, the kiwi was at US70.72c, up from US70.55c late yesterday afternoon and well above its level near US70c early this morning.

"We've got markets treading water into the data for the next three days, so it's been a very narrow range," said ANZ chief foreign exchange dealer Murray Hindley.

December quarter balance of payments data tomorrow is followed on Thursday by gross domestic product data, and trade figures on Friday.

Despite an improvement in investor risk appetite, the kiwi failed to make up ground against most major currencies, although it was steady against the Japanese yen.

The kiwi was at A77.10c from A77.20c late yesterday afternoon, and at 0.5216 euro from yesterday's 0.5220. The trade weighted index eased a little to 65.38, from 65.43.

The euro held onto gains against the US dollar, off a recent three-week low, as it benefited despite lingering concerns over Greece's ability to secure aid, and friction between the US and China over the yuan.

- NZPA