The New Zealand dollar pulled back again today after it had made a strong rebound overnight against a weaker US dollar.
The kiwi opened on its high for the day at US65.95c against US65.39c at 5pm yesterday, but it fell to US65.63c by the close.
A report showing growth in US mid-Atlantic manufacturing slowed in March although remained at strong historic levels, was seen as reason to sell US dollars, Westpac chief dealer in Wellington, Basil Payn, said.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said its gauge of US regional industry fell to 24.2 in March from 31.4 in February, far shy of expectations of a slip to 30.0.
The market was also jittery about security concerns with a plane bomb scare causing some panic selling.
However, Mr Payn said the kiwi and Australian dollar, which finished on US74.85c against its US75.15c opening and yesterday's US74.47c close, were sold today in profit taking bouts.
Westpac currency strategist Johnathan Bayley said a week ago the market would have ignored the Philly Fed data. What had changed was "a significant shift in dollar sentiment".
This was down to a "more circumspect" statement from the US Federal Reserve bank earlier this week and a rise in risk aversion associated with recent terror attacks in Spain and Iraq.
"Dollar sentiment has shifted, people are creeping back into dollar shorts and we're seeing dollar weakness emerge."
The US dollar ended in Wellington at 107.22 yen (107.24 yesterday) and the euro was at US$1.2385 (US$1.2270).
On the crosses at 4.30pm, the kiwi was buying A87.66c (A87.80c), 0.53.00 euro (0.5328), 70.38 yen (70.12 yen), 35.77 British pence (35.81), and 0.8258 Swiss francs (0.8323).
The trade-weighted index was at 65.46 (65.46), while the monetary conditions index was at plus 535 (536).
Ninety-day bank bill yields were unchanged at 5.52 per cent.
The February 2006 yields finished at 5.35 per cent (5.31), July 2009 bonds were at 5.58 per cent (5.54), while April 2013s were at 5.74 per cent (5.71).
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> Kiwi pulls back again after rebound
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