The New Zealand dollar was rangebound today in uneventful trading, failing to progress on yesterday's yield-fueled rally.
At 5pm the kiwi was buying US68.79c, just shy of last night's US68.80c close. Against its Australian counterpart, the kiwi was buying A93.91c, compared with A93.75c late yesterday.
Traders said the local unit kept to a narrow 30 point range during the session.
The kiwi hit a seven-day high of US69.11c in offshore trading after stronger than expected employment numbers out yesterday strengthened the case for further interest rate increases.
New Zealand's jobless rate fell to a 23-year low of 3.4 per cent from 3.6 per cent and quarterly job growth was much higher than expected at 1.3 per cent in the quarter.
All 15 forecasters polled by Reuters now expect the Reserve Bank to raise the official cash rate next month by at least 25 basis points, to 7.25 per cent -- with some now pushing for a 50 basis point hike.
That heightens the allure of the kiwi as a yield stock. A further $300 million worth of eurokiwis - New Zealand dollar denominated bonds sold to European investors - were issued overnight, and there is talk in the market of further issuance of the Japanese equivalent, uridashis.
The data diary is quiet next week, with September quarter retail sales due out on Tuesday.
The Australian dollar continued to weaken slightly today, closing at US73.26c, compared with US73.32c late yesterday.
- NZPA
<EM>Currency: K</EM>iwi rangebound
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