KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand dollar settled into a new lower range today.
The currency moved under the US51c mark and ended just under it at 5pm. It was US50.90c at 5pm from US51.24c at the same time yesterday and traded as low as US50.60c overnight.
BNZ currency strategist Danica Hampton said there was some profit-taking from the recent move down during the domestic session.
"We walked in and the equity markets were a sea of red and all the talk was of risk aversion." she said.
There was little news locally though comments from the Reserve Bank of Australia were seen as more positive than they could have been.
"There isn't really a lot of drive the market on the day," she said.
"We've seen a bit of a rebound and a little bit of demand against the aussie," she said.
Against the Australian dollar, the kiwi was little changed at A79.60c from A79.57c at 5pm yesterday.
Against the euro it was down to 0.4045 from 0.4053, against the Japanese yen it was down to 46.97 from 47.45 and against the British pound down to 35.76p from 36.07p.
The US dollar gained broadly, rising to its highest in more than two months against the euro on Tuesday after warnings from two ratings agencies fuelled fears a sharp downturn in Eastern Europe would further pressure the euro zone banking sector.
The euro tumbled as concerns grew that a deep and prolonged recession in Eastern Europe would hit western European banks.
- NZPA
