The New Zealand dollar is heading for a 0.7 per cent weekly gain, having gone sideways in the local trading session as markets await US inflation data.
The kiwi traded at US71.40c at 5pm today versus US71.34c at 8am, up from US71.04c on Thursday. It traded at US70.92c in New York last week. The trade-weighted index advanced to 75.04 from 74.74 Thursday.
Martin Rudings, senior dealer foreign exchange at OMF in Wellington, said the greenback had been under pressure as markets were still jittery about US President Donald Trump, given ongoing geopolitical and economic risk.
"Generally the backdrop is a dark cloud over the US economy because of Trump," something that is likely to remain, he said. The US dollar was also weighed on this week when minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's September meeting showed policy-makers held concerns about the strength of inflation in the world's biggest economy.
Markets are now focused on US inflation data due overnight in the US for further clues about how aggressively the Fed will lift rates.
