KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand dollar remained on a gentle downward trend.
It eased overnight to US76.58c from US76.88c yesterday but was stationary during the day in moribund trading. It has fallen from US77.40c at the start of the week.
Against the Australian dollar, the kiwi was again around seven-week lows, buying A83.02c at the close, after a small bounce through much of the local trading day yesterday.
A new survey showed business confidence rebounded this month to - 13 per cent from - 27 per cent last month but yesterday's poor September building permits data would weight on the kiwi, ANZ said.
Continued tests of support were under way for the kiwi against the Australian dollar and it looked to be a matter of time before an attempt below A83c took place, ANZ said.
The aussie has been supported by a rally in commodity prices and expectations that the RBA will raise interest rates by 25 basis points next week from the current 6.50 per cent.
"The aussie is likely to extend gains due to its yield advantages against the dollar and the yen, as well as higher commodity prices," said Hiroshi Yoshida, a forex trader at Shinkin Central Bank.
The trade weighted index fell to 70.89 from 71.25 yesterday afternoon as the kiwi eased on all the cross rates.
The US dollar hovered near a record low against the euro on expectations of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, which wraps up a two-day policy meeting later in the session.
The US central bank is widely seen slashing the fed funds rate by a quarter percentage point to 4.5 per cent to shield the economy from problems in the housing sector, following an aggressive half percentage point rate cut last month.
The dollar was also kept in check as some market players speculated that the Fed will signal in its post-meeting statement that additional policy easing might be needed to avoid an economic recession.
Reuters currency rates
4.45pm today 4.45pm yesterday
NZ dlr/US dlr US76.58c US76.88c
NZ dlr/Aust dlr A83.02c A83.62c
NZ dlr/euro 0.5304 0.5336
NZ dlr/yen 87.92 87.99
NZ dlr/stg 37.01p 37.31p
NZ TWI 70.89 71.25
Australian dollar US92.19c US91.02c
Euro/US dollar 1.4437 1.4403
US dollar/yen 114.75 114.52
- NZPA