The New Zealand dollar rescaled US66c today in a session of quiet trading.
It ended the day on its opening level of US66.01c and against US65.75c at 5pm yesterday.
Retail sales data was bang on forecasts and failed to give a definite steer.
Total sales were unchanged in August, leaving economists split on whether the Reserve Bank will raise interest rates later this month.
ANZ Bank said it continued to expect the Reserve Bank to lift the Official Cash Rate on its next review date of October 26 and that would underpin the currency.
But BNZ said the August figures provided no upside surprise and would not push the Reserve Bank toward hiking again this month.
That said, BNZ suspected economic news in the coming weeks and months would keep the heat on the Reserve Bank.
Against the aussie, the NZ dollar eased to A87.84c from A88.04c yesterday evening.
It fell more than half a cent earlier yesterday afternoon after data showed Australia created 31,400 new jobs in September, easily beating market forecasts for the fifth month running and heightening risks of another rise in Australian interest rates.
The trade weighted index finished the week on 66.73 from 66.69 yesterday.
Increasing expectations of an Australian interest rate hike in November had almost completely put paid to a move above A89.20c for now, ANZ said.
But in the medium term, exporters should not forget that the last Australian drought helped the cross through A90c and a close watch should be kept on weather conditions across the Tasman.
The US dollar slipped against the euro and pulled back from a 10-month high against the yen after St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole said he saw more risks of a growth slowdown than faster inflation.
Poole, generally seen as taking a tougher stance on inflation as a policy-maker, also told Reuters in an interview that he would back an interest rate cut if the economy stumbled.
The comments caught the attention of market players after upbeat economic data and an array of comments from other Fed officials saying they were worried about inflation staying stubbornly high.
The euro climbed to US$1.2669 from US$1.2555 and the dollar slipped to 119.19 yen from near 119.40 yen in late New York trade.
Reuters currency rates:
5pm today 5pm yesterday
NZ dlr/US dlr US66.01c US65.75c
NZ dlr/Aust dlr A87.84c A88.04c
NZ dlr/euro 0.5247 0.5245
NZ dlr/yen 78.63 78.62
NZ dlr/stg 35.42p 35.41p
NZ TWI 66.73 66.69
Australian dollar US75.14c US74.66c
Euro/US dollar 1.2669 1.2530
US dollar/yen 119.19 119.58
- NZPA
<i>Currency</i>: Dollar hits US66c in quiet trading
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