NZ dollar eases again

The New Zealand dollar drifted lower today after climbing yesterday afternoon and overnight with movements in the US dollar continuing to be the main driver of direction.

The NZ dollar was at US74.99c at 5pm, down from US75.50c at 8am but up from US74.56c at 5pm yesterday.

It eased during the domestic session after US Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner was quoted in the Wall Street Journal saying some major currencies were roughly in alignment. Traders took the comment to mean the US may have found a floor and the US dollar spiked higher in reaction to the remarks.

The NZ dollar rose to A76.28c be at 5pm from A76.45c at the same time yesterday.

The market is now heading toward a long holiday weekend and next Thursday the Reserve Bank of New Zealand pronounces on interest rates.

Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard was questioned at a parliamentary committee yesterday about potential for intervention in the currency market and was told its options were limited.

News that China's economy expanded by 9.6 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter, beating analyst forecasts for 9.5 per cent growth, emphasised the importance of that economy. China's consumer price index rose 3.6 per cent in September from a year earlier, the fastest pace since October 2008.

The growth figure marked a decline from the 10.3 per cent growth in the second quarter but was large enough ease concerns of a sharp slowdown.

The NZ dollar was at 60.86 yen at 5pm today from 60.64 yen at the same time yesterday, and was at 0.4742 euro from 0.5410 euro yesterday.

The trade weighted index ended up little changed at 66.59 at 5pm from 66.55 yesterday.

- NZPA