The New Zealand dollar was on a slow boat to nowhere yesterday as it muddled along in a narrow 18-point range.
At 5pm the kiwi traded at US46.65c, up slightly from Thursday's close of US46.55c. The aussie was at US54.43c, slightly weaker than Thursday's close of US54.35c.
Graeme Blackwood of Deutsche Bank said the kiwi was still stuck in a small range, between US46.50/68c, in a very quiet session.
"Eighteen points during the day, it's hardly a range," Mr Blackwood said.
"There hasn't been too much going on, we've just been a spectator. The aussie also had a very quiet day after a sell-off on Thursday night, it's had a 20-point range."
The release of US non-farm payroll data overnight was likely to be the next catalyst for moves in the US dollar, with a drop in numbers employed expected to pinch the US dollar and equity markets.
"For our dollar, I think we should hold above US46.25c and move on from there, especially if the US is weakening against other currencies," he said.
In offshore trade, the US dollar posted slim gains versus the yen and recovered from lows against the euro in US trade on Thursday, although the Dow Jones average fell 1.7 per cent and Nasdaq composite index about 3.2 per cent after soggy retail sales data.
The US dollar was at 118.20 yen in Wellington, compared with 117.75 yen on Thursday, while the euro was almost unchanged at US99.40c (US99.41c Thursday).
The greenback also shrugged off a bearish Institute for Supply Management index on the non-manufacturing sector.
However, many dealers said the dollar was likely to be capped by mounting fears about the US economy.
On the crosses at 5pm the kiwi traded at A85.70c (A85.64c at Thursday's close), 55.14 yen (54.82), 29.75 pence (29.71), 0.6854 Swiss francs (0.6847), and 0.4694 euro (0.4682).
On the money market, 90-day bills were at 5.85 per cent (5.86), the trade-weighted index was at 53.10 (52.96) and the monetary conditions index was at minus 478 (minus 490).
The April 2004 bonds were at 5.51 per cent (5.55), the November 2006 bonds were at 5.84 per cent (5.89), and the November 2011 bonds were at 6.06 per cent (6.10).
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> Kiwi firm after quiet session
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.