The kiwi traded in a tight range after the latest gross domestic product (GDP) figures provided no surprises today.
At 5pm today the kiwi was at US71.23c, from a session low of US70.89c, from US71.58c at the 5pm close yesterday. The New Zealand dollar traded in a tight range of US70.89c to US71.18c during today's domestic session.
The kiwi was largely unaffected by the latest GDP figures, which were in line with economists' forecasts. The economy grew 0.6 percent in the September quarter, while the growth rate in the September year was 4.6 percent, up from 4.4 percent in the June year and 3.7 percent in the September 2003 year.
The news did not have the same market-moving impact as yesterday's release of current account deficit data, which was worse than expected.
The September quarter annual deficit was $8.23 billion, or 5.8 percent of GDP against the record 6.9 percent in June 1997. The September quarter deficit was $4.22 billion, or $3.09 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis. Economists had forecast an unadjusted deficit of $3.5 billion.
The news saw the kiwi dip against the greenback, as well as the Australian dollar.
The kiwi/aussie cross rate recovered slightly today and at 5pm the kiwi was at A93.15c, from A93.06c at 5pm yesterday.
The euro was trading at $US1.3357, compared with its $US1.3395 close yesterday, and the greenback was at 104.35 yen (103.90).
On its other crosses, the kiwi was at 0.5332 euro (0.5336), 36.93 British pence (36.75), 74.31 yen (74.31), and 0.8224 Swiss francs (0.8217).
The trade-weighted index was at 68.95 (69.05), while the monetary conditions index was at plus 918 (924).
On the money markets, 90-day bank bill yields were at 6.75 percent (from 6.74), February 2006 bonds were at 6.34 percent (6.33) and July 2009s were at 6.01 percent (6.00), while the April 2013s were at 5.96 percent (5.91).
- NZPA
<EM>Currency:</EM> Kiwi virtually unmoved by GDP
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