NZ dollar falls against US

The New Zealand dollar dipped early today to its lowest level against the greenback in more than a week and also hit recent lows against the euro and the Australian dollar.

The kiwi fell to US70.17c, according to Reuters data, then moved back up to US70.28c by 8am today, down from about US70.50c on Thursday afternoon.

The greenback was boosted by data showing the US economy's vast services sector grew last month at its fastest pace since mid-2006 adding to optimism sparked by Friday's payrolls report, which showed employers added jobs in March at the fastest clip in three years.

A rise above 4 per cent in the 10-year US Treasury note yield for the first since June also helped the US dollar by making US dollar-denominated Treasuries more attractive than comparable but lower-yielding Japanese government bonds.

The NZ dollar fell to a 1-month low against the aussie, around A76.20c, with ANZ bank saying the kiwi fell on anticipation the Reserve Bank of Australia will hike interest rates today. By 8am the NZ dollar had edged back up to A76.34c, down from around A70.90c at 4.30pm on Thursday.

Also early today, the kiwi fell to a two-week low of 0.5193 euro, down from 0.5218 on Thursday afternoon. By 8am today it was up to 0.5214.

Against the yen, the kiwi was falling at today's local open after reaching an 11-week high near 67 yen yesterday morning. By 8am today it was down to 66.28 yen, still above the 65.80 yen on Thursday afternoon. The trade weighted index was 65.40 at 8am today, from 65.57 at 4.30pm on Thursday.

- NZPA