The New Zealand dollar managed to squeak back above US70c today, in tight range trading.
At 5pm the kiwi was buying US70.03 after slipping to US69.95c at 8.30am today, from US70.22c. The kiwi traded in a tight range of US69.91c to US70.03c today.
The market is waiting for direction from the US Federal Reserve, which is meeting overnight New Zealand time and is widely tipped to raise US rates by a quarter percentage point to 4 percent.
The wording of the Fed's accompanying statement will be closely watched for clues on whether further tightening can be expected.
US economic data released during the previous session showed surprisingly strong Midwest business activity in October and a pick-up in the Fed's favoured inflation gauge in September underscored expectations for more rate increases.
The New Zealand dollar hit a five month high against the aussie dollar, buying A93.87c at 5pm today, from A93.74c at the same time yesterday.
The Reserve Bank of Australia met today, and is tomorrow expected to announce no change in its 5.50 percent key interest rate, increasing the yield attractions of the kiwi after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised the official cash rate 25 basis points to 7 percent last week.
Traders said trade was thin, as interest was diverted from the market on both sides of the Tasman by the Melbourne Cup horse race.
The following are Reuters currency rates:
NZ dlr US70.03c US70.22c
NZ dlr/Aust dlr A93.87c A93.74c
NZ dlr/euro 0.5847 0.5826
NZ dlr/yen 81.64 81.26
NZ dlr/stg 39.61p 39.56p
NZ TWI 71.82 71.72
Australian dollar US74.63c US74.92c
Euro/US dollar US1.1980 US1.2055
US dollar/yen 116.57 115.74
- NZPA
<EM>Currency:</EM> Kiwi hovers around US70C
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.