The kiwi held its footing above US71c today, on the back of broad backed weakness in the greenback.
At 5pm the kiwi was at US71.15c (from US70.81c at 5pm yesterday), consolidating overnight gains against a broadly weaker greenback.
The greenback's slip came after benign US inflation data offset a robust manufacturing index in the Midwest, curbing expectations of more aggressive interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve.
The kiwi was also underpinned by yesterday's release of building consent figures, which showed the seasonally adjusted number of new dwelling authorised in February was 2492, the highest level since October last year, but down 14.1 per cent on a year earlier.
Against the Australian dollar, the kiwi was at A92.00c (A91.80c). The kiwi's rise against the aussie came after talk that the Reserve Bank of Australia might not lift its benchmark interest rate from 5.50 per cent next week.
Meanwhile the yen slipped today after a weak reading in the Bank of Japan's quarterly 'tankan' survey of business sentiment raised more doubts about the strength of Japan's recovery. The tankan's diffusion index for big manufacturers fell to plus 14 in March, weaker than plus 22 in December and expectations for plus 23.
At 5pm today the greenback was buying 107.47 yen, against 107.29 at the same time yesterday, while the kiwi was fetching 76.47 yen (75.99).
The trade-weighted index was at 69.73 (69.48), while the monetary conditions index was at plus 1008 (991).
Meanwhile, the aussie was at US77.29c (US77.14c) and the euro was at $1.2959 (US$1.2915).
On its other major crosses the kiwi was fetching 0.5490 euro (0.5482), 37.73 British pence (37.68), and 0.8624 Swiss francs (0.8491).
On the money markets, 90-day bank bill yields were unchanged at 7.09 per cent, July 2009 bonds were at 6.25 per cent (6.32) and April 2015s were at 6.12 per cent (6.19).
Looking further ahead, the market is also bracing for US non-farm payrolls data, which is due tonight and expected to show that 220,000 new jobs were created in March, against 262,000 in February.
- NZPA
<EM>Currency:</EM> Kiwi holds head above US71C
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