Currency: NZ dollar little changed

The New Zealand dollar was little changed today in the wake of the Reserve Bank's signal that low interest rates are here for some time.

The dollar was at US56.55c at 5pm, unchanged from yesterday.

The Reserve Bank yesterday cut the official cash rate (OCR) by half a percentage point to a record low 2.5 per cent.

It took the unusual step of saying the rate was to remain at or below that level until the latter part of 2010.

With a holiday in Singapore and Hong Kong today, Asian trading was reduced and the local market was able to focus on the prospect of lower interest rates for longer.

Weakness in stock markets in the wake of Chrysler filing for bankruptcy was another reason not to buy risky currencies.

There was no domestic economic data of note today but next week's diary has wages and jobs data and a result from the country's largest listed company, Telecom.

The US dollar reached a two-week high against the yen in quiet Asian trading.

The NZ dollar was also little changed at 0.4264 euro from 0.4257 yesterday, and was up to 55.95 yen from 55.07.

Against the Australian dollar the kiwi was lower at A77.76c from A77.95c yesterday, while the trade weighted index lifted to 56.07 from 55.89 yesterday.

- NZPA