The New Zealand dollar continued to trade on the ailing fortunes of the US dollar yesterday, stretching to fresh 23-month highs.
By 5pm the kiwi was at US47.69c from US47.37c at Tuesday's close, having hit a high of around US47.75c overnight. Its aussie stablemate ended the local session at US56.29c (US55.76c).
Bank of New Zealand foreign exchange manager Mike Symonds said the next key target for the kiwi was US47.80c - with a chance the unit will make a play towards US48c overnight if it can conquer that target.
"The kiwi dollar continues to find good buying interest on any sort of weakness. There's a lot of talk about the crucial US47.80c level that we're close to at the moment," Mr Symonds said.
"That's a level that we haven't seen for the best part of 24-months. A break of that level would open up topside initially towards the US48.50c level but obviously beyond that the US50c level comes into play."
The range overnight would likely be US47.55c to US48.05c, Mr Symonds said.
"The price action and the fact that any retracement of the kiwi has been very shallow indeed, certainly would suggest that for now the momentum is very much skewed towards the topside for the kiwi.
"If we were to see another extension of the US dollar down then again that could provide the kiwi with the impetus to attack that US48c area."
On the crosses at 5pm, the kiwi was at A84.73c from A84.98c at Tuesday night's close, 59.44 yen (59.11) 32.73 pence (32.53), 0.5138 euro (0.5142), and 0.7510 Swiss francs (0.7495).
The aussie was buying $NZ1.1796 ($NZ1.1821).
The monetary conditions index was at minus 242 (minus 261), the trade-weighted index at 55.63 (55.42) and 90-day bank bills at 5.79 per cent (5.89).
On the debt market yields the April 2004 bond yields were at 6.12 per cent (6.15), the November 2006s at 6.65 per cent (6.68), and the November 2011s at 6.80 per cent (6.83).
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> Kiwi touches fresh 23-month high
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