NZ dollar rises vs greenback

Photo / Dean Purcell

The New Zealand dollar reached a 10-day high against the greenback, briefly topping US77c, as the euro strengthened and jobless claims in the United States jumped to their highest level since October.

ANZ bank said a hawkish European Central Bank had ensured the euro helped lift the Australasian currencies.

Dips for the NZ dollar were extremely well supported as higher commodity price information prevented any drop.

The ANZ commodity price index for December, published yesterday, was at record levels as it chalked up a fourth consecutive month of increases.

At 8am today the NZ dollar was buying US76.94c from US76.16c at 5pm yesterday, while falling to 0.5757 euro from 0.5810.

The euro posted its biggest rise against the US dollar in more than six months after solid European debt auctions and a warning of short term inflation risks from the head of the ECB.

Although ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said price stability was not under threat, his remarks drove expectations the ECB could raise interest rates.

The kiwi did rise against the Australian dollar, to A77c at 8am from A76.57c at 5pm, with ANZ saying that rising New Zealand commodity prices had helped renew NZ dollar strength on the cross.

The NZ dollar was up to 63.70 yen at 8am, having climbed to a seven-week high around 63.85 yen early today, while the trade weighted index lifted to 69.02 from 68.85 at 5pm.

- NZPA