Kiwi dollar drops below US71c

Photo / Dean Purcell

The New Zealand dollar fell below US71c against the greenback for the first time in three weeks, after weekly jobless claims rose unexpectedly in the United States and euro zone data was weaker than expected, spurring safe-haven demand.

By 8am the kiwi was buying US70.89c, down from US71.27c at 5pm yesterday, and having fallen from around US73.40c at the start of the week.

The euro earlier slid to a three-week low against the US dollar after figures showed Greece's economy shrank more than expected in the second quarter, while euro zone industrial production unexpectedly declined in June.

The NZ dollar had a bouncy night against the European currency and by 8am was at 0.5525 euro, slightly down from its 5pm level of 0.5536, while the kiwi edged higher to 60.87 yen at the local open.

Against the Australian dollar the kiwi was down to A79.09c at 8am from A79.57c at yesterday's local close. The trade weighted index fell to 66.26 at the local open from 66.51 at 5pm.

ANZ bank said that following yesterday's downbeat manufacturing data in this country, figures today would provide an opportunity to assess the mood of the housing market and the retail sector.

While some improvement was likely, the household sector was no longer the centre of attention it was a few years ago, ANZ said.

- NZPA