The New Zealand dollar weakened on the expectation the US government's failure to reach agreement on its budget, partially shutting down government services, will only be temporary.
The kiwi slipped to 82.66 US cents at 8am in Wellington from 83.05 cents at the 5pm market close yesterday. The trade-weighted index dropped to 76.81 from 77.32 yesterday.
Investors are betting fallout will be limited from the shutdown of some US government services after failure to reach agreement yesterday for the first time in 17 years. Fitch Ratings reiterated that the shutdown isn't a trigger for the US credit rating however it does undermine confidence in the budget process and raises concerns about whether politicians can reach agreement on increasing the country's borrowing capacity to enable the US to meet its financial obligations.
"There was limited market reaction to the US partial government shutdown," Mark Smith, senior economist at ANZ New Zealand, said in a note. "A shutdown is unlikely to have a long term impact on the economy, but if it extends to the debt ceiling debate it could cause market turmoil."
Politicians must agree by mid-October to raise the country's US$16.7 trillion debt ceiling or risk an historic US default.