KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand dollar continued to weaken yesterday, driven by sentiment and global credit concerns instead of local data.
The dollar closed at US69.17c, off its session low of US68.88c and lower than Tuesday 's close of US69.55c.
Talk of an emergency rate cut helped earlier yesterday but ongoing tension in global cash markets and rumours of some companies filing for US bankruptcy protection left investors on edge, said BNZ's chief currency dealer, Mike Symonds.
"The reality is that there are still a lot of people that are sceptical, still concerned that we may not have seen the worst of this. Risk appetite is still muted."
Large volumes of maturing uridashi bonds are also thought to be a factor.
The BNZ estimates that $1.5 billion of the $3.5 billion set to mature this month has not been reinvested, indicating there had been some "real money behind the recent NZ dollar weakness".
The kiwi was weaker against its major trading partners today, including the yen, and fell to 79.09.
Against the Aussie dollar it fell to A86.47c from A86.72c, although that currency was facing similar issues, Symonds said.
The TWI ebbed lower to 67.12 from 67.57 yesterday.
Dealers said the kiwi was expected to remain within current ranges in the absence of any data or significant market events.
- NZPA