The New Zealand dollar continued to trade strongly today just below fresh six-year highs, buoyed by better than expected retail sales figures.
September quarter retail sales up 2 per cent came above forecasts of 1.8 per cent, and followed yesterday's much stronger than forecast jobs data that saw the unemployment rate fall to its lowest since 1987.
The rise will give even further ammunition to Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard to increase interest rates at the next cash rate review on December 4.
At 5pm the kiwi was at US62.60c, up from yesterday's close of US62.42c and not far from its overnight peak in New York at US62.66c.
The Australian dollar was also firm, rising to US71.54c from US71.47 yesterday, but the New Zealand dollar made big gains against it.
ANZ Investment Bank chief foreign exchange dealer Murray Hindley said the data underpinned an already strong New Zealand dollar.
"Retail sales leant a little bit of support to (the kiwi), kept it bid throughout the course of the afternoon. It's been bid in the low US62.40c.
"Overnight, it looks like it's going to continue to grind higher, probably test another new high around the US62.80/90c area and the base looks to be US62.40c," Mr Hindley said.
In Tokyo the US dollar stayed bound in tight ranges against the yen, finding support on wariness of Japanese intervention as traders debated the strength of the US recovery with recent sluggishness on Wall Street.
At 5pm the US dollar was trading at 108.74 yen, up from Monday's three-year low of 107.86 yen, while the euro was buying US$1.1565 against its US$1.1498 close yesterday.
On the crosses, the kiwi was buying A87.51c (A87.20c), 68.07 yen (67.73), 37.49 pence (36.34), 0.5412 euro (0.5431), and 0.8482 Swiss francs (0.8549).
The Australian dollar was at $1.1429 ($1.1468).
The TWI was at 64.48, near its six-year high today of 64.53 and above yesterday's 64.33.
The monetary conditions index was at plus 450 (433) - just below near its five-year high earlier today - and 90-day bank bills were at 5.42 per cent (5.38).
On the debt market, April 2004 bonds were unchanged at 5.30 per cent, February 2006s were at 5.92 per cent (5.93), and November 2011s were steady at 6.23 per cent.
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> Kiwi bobs along near six-year high on more positive data
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