The New Zealand dollar took a double whammy of economic blows today, sagging against both the United States and Australian currencies, a dealer said.
At 5pm, the kiwi was at US72.60c, having closed at US73.07c yesterday. It ranged between US72.50c and US73.30c today, after starting today's session at US72.97c.
An unexpected rise in the nation's March quarter unemployment -- it came in at 3.9 per cent against expectations of 3.5 per cent -- forced the kiwi-US cross south.
It didn't recover during today's session, and could test the US72.10c region in coming sessions, said BNZ currency strategist Sue Trinh.
While the kiwi had remained robust against a strong US dollar, it was the unemployment data that undermined it, she said.
"That saw the kiwi get marked lower by some 20 to 30 basis points," Ms Trinh told NZPA today.
The kiwi also sank against the aussie after after what Ms Trinh described as a "one-two punch" of economic data.
Shortly after the New Zealand unemployment figures were out, Australia issued its better than expected unemployment data.
"That saw the kiwi lose favour against the aussie dollar and it's retraced quite significantly today," Ms Trinh said.
The kiwi-aussie range today: A93.80c to A94.40c. It closed at A93.95c (from A94.24c at 5pm yesterday).
Meanwhile, the kiwi was buying: 0.5676 euro (0.5679), 77.06 yen (77.23), 38.80 British pence (38.85), and 0.8766 Swiss francs (0.8781).
The greenback was buying 106.16 yen (105.69), the euro was buying US$1.2792 (US$1.2868), and the aussie was at US77.28c (US77.54c).
The trade-weighted index was at 71.28 (71.51), and the monetary conditions index was at plus 1115 (1135).
On the money markets, 90-day bank bill yields were at 7.05 per cent (7.09), July 2009 bonds were at 5.96 per cent (6.00), and April 2015s were unchanged at 5.85 per cent (5.86).
- NZPA
<EM>Currency:</EM> Kiwi sags against USD
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