The New Zealand dollar rose after US retail sales growth and Citigroup's earnings beat estimates, lifting stocks on Wall Street and bolstering risk appetite and demand for growth-linked assets such as the kiwi.
The kiwi dollar rose to 81.82 US cents from 81.43 cents at 5 pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index rose to 73.07 from 72.80.
Shares of Citigroup gained after the bank's third-quarter profit beat expectations, giving investors some comfort about the current earnings season, while US retail sales rose 1.1 per cent in September, beating estimates.
Data in New Zealand today is expected to show the consumer price index rose at an annual pace of 1.1 per cent, low enough to stay the central bank's arm on interest rates. Across the Tasman, minutes of the last Reserve Bank of Australia meeting are due out later today.
"Most, including us, expect NZ inflation to track higher over the coming year," said Mike Jones, strategist at Bank of New Zealand, which is forecasting inflation slowed to 0.9 per cent, the lowest since 1960. "An outcome around our expectations would only reinforce the market's inclination to price in RBNZ rate cuts."
