KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand dollar was oddly little moved by news of the Reserve Bank's unprecedented 1.5 percentage point cut in the official cash rate to 5 per cent.
Dealers said it was a case of no surprise and therefore no reaction.
Wall St had a volatile day and rallied at the close, which helped the New Zealand dollar test the topside of its recent range, said Imre Speizer, senior market strategist at Westpac.
At 5pm the kiwi was at US53.25c compared with US53.15c on Wednesday. About the time Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard cut the official cash rate the currency moved a few points but nothing to write home about.
"The overriding sentiment is still negative, we couldn't break out of the key resistance at US53.50c," said Speizer.
But the currency is holding on the downside.
Against the Australian dollar, the New Zealand dollar was A82.20c at 5pm, unchanged from Wednesday. It was 49.60 from 49.65 on Wednesday and against the euro it moved from 0.4175 on Wednesday to 0.4190. The trade weighted index was 54.07 at 5pm from 53.90 at 8am just before the rate cut decision.
- NZPA
