Today's budget was largely ignored by currency market punters, with the New Zealand dollar trading flat at a 23-month high above US47c.
At 5pm the kiwi was at US47.36c, barely changed from yesterday's US47.35c close, while the aussie dipped slightly to US55.79c (US55.90c).
"Kiwi was fairly static in the face of a rather ho-hum budget," Deutsche Bank dealer Tim Robinson said.
"The focus is really on data in the United States tonight, as bizarre as that sounds."
Even news the Government is ending this financial year with a healthy $2.3 billion surplus and expects a surplus of $2.28 billion at the end of the 2002/03 year, failed to move the market.
Both are well above forecasts, and are projected to rise steadily to $4.2 billion in 2005-06.
US dollar weakness continued to dominate markets worldwide. The greenback plunged to an eight-month low against the euro and tested a 28-month nadir against the Swiss franc overnight after the FBI warned of further terror threats against New York City.
Bank of Japan intervention overnight, buying the US dollar at 123.70 yen, saw only a short-lived spike in the greenback to 125 before it began slipping back.
The US dollar was buying 124.31 yen at the close of the local session from 123.73 late yesterday.
Tonight's US April durable goods orders and weekly jobless claims data will be closely watched, Mr Robinson said.
He expected the kiwi to trade a US47.20c to US47.55c range ahead of that data.
On the crosses at 5pm the kiwi was buying A84.85c (A84.64c at yesterday's close), 0.5119 euro (0.5127), 58.86 yen (58.59), 32.49 pence (32.38), and 0.7440 Swiss francs (0.7440).
The aussie was buying $NZ1.1780 ($NZ1.1815).
The monetary conditions index tightened slightly to minus 273 (minus 279) and 90-day bank bills were flat at 5.87 per cent. The trade-weighted index -- which measures the kiwi against a basket of major currencies -- was up at 55.32 (55.24).
On the debt market activity was moribund with the April 2004 bond yields at 6.09 per cent (6.10), the November 2006s at 6.64 per cent (6.68), and the November 2011s at 6.76 per cent (6.80). Healthy surpluses have enabled the Government to cut next year's borrowing requirements by a third, today's budget reveals.
The Government today announced a domestic debt programme for 2002/03 of $3.4 billion, much lower than its previous December forecast of $5.07 billion in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
One bond dealer said that the market already held a variety of expectations about a reduction, with expectations ranging between $3.8 billion and $4.5 billion.
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> 'Ho-hum' budget fails to move financial markets
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