The New Zealand dollar was going nowhere yesterday, despite a fall in US stocks which failed to undercut the US dollar.
By 5pm, the kiwi traded at US47.98c, a tad firmer than its US47.85c level at Wednesday's close, while the aussie was also stronger at US54.85c, compared with US54.68c on Wednesday.
One local dealer said the kiwi had a very quiet day, as evidenced by its five-point range between US47.95c and US48.00c.
"It's one of our more quiet days, quieter than yesterday (Wednesday). Pretty light volume," the dealer said.
"The aussie's had a fairly quiet day as well, everything's been quiet and both of them marking time."
A reversal in the fortunes of Wall St overnight, where stocks screeched to a halt after a four-day rising streak, had little impact on the US dollar.
"Generally speaking it was a fairly lacklustre day for our currency. Overnight we'll probably get more of the same," he said.
He picked the kiwi to trade between a range of US47.80c to US48.10c.
A busy schedule of US data ahead would provide some insight into the state of the global economy, but the kiwi appeared to be cushioned against global growth concerns by its yield advantage, Bank of New Zealand currency strategist Stuart Ritson said in a daily commentary.
In Asia trade, the greenback rose to a one-week high against the euro on firmness in US stock futures, but failed to maintain earlier gains versus the yen.
A fall in US share prices was the main reason the greenback fell earlier this year, as investors worried that US share markets would not be able to attract foreign funds it needed to finance its current account deficit.
In Wellington at 5pm, the US was buying 124.35 yen, compared with last night's 124.74 yen, while the euro slipped to US97.78c from US98.20c last night.
On the crosses at 5pm, the kiwi traded at A87.48c (A87.50c), 0.4907 euro (0.4872), 59.66 yen (59.70), 0.3094 pence (0.3077) and 0.7193 Swiss francs (0.7049). The Australian dollar rose to $1.1431 from $1.1432.
The 90-day bill yield was steady at 5.89 per cent, the monetary conditions index tightened to minus 267 (minus 281), and the trade weighted index was at 55.33 (55.19).
April 2004 bonds were at 5.75 per cent (5.72), the November 2006 yield rose to 6.17 per cent (6.11), and the November 2011 bond yield was at 6.47 per cent (6.38).
- NZPA
<i>Currency: Kiwi going nowhere despite fall in US
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