A 2.7 per cent drop in the New Zealand dollar against the greenback since Monday, and a 3.8 per cent drop for the aussie, has provided interest for the currency markets this week.
At 5pm the New Zealand dollar was buying US58.95c, down from US59.73c late yesterday, while the aussie was at US66.16c (US67.62c).
ANZ Investment Bank chief foreign exchange dealer Murray Hindley said the kiwi traded between US58.90c and US59.30c today, clawed from its US60c perch by the falling Australian dollar.
The New Zealand, Australian and Canadian dollars, and the South African rand were all losers in the last 24 hours, although whether they fall further would become clearer later this week, Mr Hindley said.
"It's a bit wait and see whether this is a change in thinking out here, or just a bit of profit-taking...or whether people are now suggesting the US economy is starting to bottom out, and it's time now to have a look at getting back into stocks in the US market and exit positions in this part of the world," he said.
Mr Hindley picked a range for the kiwi overnight between US58.60c and US59.30c.
In Tokyo today the US dollar rose against the yen, helped by growing optimism about the US economy and wariness that the Bank of Japan might step in to halt a further rise in the Japanese currency.
By 5pm in Wellington the euro rose to $US1.1384 from $US1.1328 late yesterday, while the US dollar rose to 118.37 yen (118.13).
On the crosses at 5pm the kiwi was buying A89.14c (A88.34c late yesterday), 69.81 yen (70.53), 36.07 pence (36.21), 0.8072 Swiss francs (0.8197), and 0.5208 euro (0.5273).
The monetary conditions index was at plus 301 (342), the trade-weighted index was at 62.94 (63.43) and 90-day bank bill yields were at 5.14 per cent (5.13).
The February 2005 yields were at 4.85 per cent (4.86), the November 2006s were at 5.01 per cent (5.02), and the November 2011s were at 5.39 per cent (5.41).
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> Kiwi beats retreat, question mark over next move
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