The New Zealand dollar was little changed below 70 US cents, as the US Thanksgiving holiday left markets subdued, and may fall in the face of continued US dollar strength.
The kiwi dollar traded at 69.96 US cents from 69.80 cents late yesterday, when it touched 69.68 cents, the lowest since July. The trade-weighted index rose to 77.24 from 77.15.
The kiwi dollar has declined more than 5 percent against the greenback since Nov. 8, when Donald Trump won the US Presidential election, heralding a new policy direction for the US that would include tax cuts and massive infrastructure spending, driving US economic growth, inflation and interest rates.
Against that, he has vowed to ditch the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement and enact trade policies that could have implications for trading nations such as New Zealand and penalise China.
"USD strength remains the key theme in currency markets," said David Croy, senior rates strategist at ANZ Bank New Zealand. "The kiwi is holding around 0.70, but
looks set to trend gradually lower as markets focus on the implications of potential US trade barriers and rapid upward re-rating of US growth prospects".
