The kiwi held its ground above US74c in quiet trading within a tight range today.
At 5pm today the kiwi was buying US74.36c from US74.43c at 5pm yesterday having traded in a narrow US74.17c to US74.35c range.
BNZ currency strategist Sue Trinh said there was not much going on heading into the weekend, with just some fairly dry data - Michigan Consumer Sentiment figures - due out tonight.
The US dollar rose overnight as investors sold emerging market debt and currencies, and sought safer ground in US Treasuries ahead of an expected rise in US interest rates next week.
Looking ahead to next week, Ms Trinh said the main risk event on the horizon for the kiwi was the release of fourth quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data on Thursday. "Most forecasters are expecting a rather weak number and that could potentially weigh on the kiwi," Ms Trinh said.
Ms Trinh said there were also signs of risk aversion in the market, with some selling of the kiwi against both the Canadian dollar and the Swiss franc today.
At 5pm the kiwi was buying 0.8604 Swiss francs (from 0.8585 Swiss francs at 5pm yesterday). On its other crosses at 5pm the kiwi was at A93.79c (A93.77c), 0.5559 euro (0.5551), 38.68 British pence (38.67), 77.83 yen (77.69).
At 5pm the euro was buying US$1.3377 ($1.3403 at 5pm yesterday), while the greenback was at 104.66 yen (104.42) and the aussie was buying US74.36c (US79.33c).
The trade-weighted index was at 71.52 (71.49), and the monetary conditions index was at plus 1132 (1130).
On the money markets, 90-day bank bill yields were unchanged at 7.06 per cent, July 2009 bonds were at 6.31 per cent (6.33) and April 2015s were at 6.17 per cent (6.18).
- NZPA
<EM>Currency:</EM> Kiwi holds firm above US74C
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