The New Zealand dollar traded quietly today following a turbulent session in currency markets last night.
By 5pm the kiwi was at US59.60c, up on its closing level of US59.46c last night, while the Australian dollar rose to US68.30c (US68.00c).
The kiwi traded between US59.45/80c during the day.
Westpac currency strategist Johnathan Bayley said the currency market had a wild 24 hours overnight, with a three month in the euro against the United States dollar, and a nearly three-year low in the US dollar against the Japanese yen.
"It is clear ... that the market is as keen as ever to sell the US dollar," Mr Bayley said.
"Beyond specific currency dynamics there is a bigger theme at play -- investors are reconsidering their enthusiasm for world growth recovery.
"Equity markets are softening, while bond yields have declined for almost a month.
"Closer to home this is evident in the New Zealand dollar's struggle with US60c, but more pointedly in New Zealand dollar/euro where the cross, in sympathy with growth expectations, continues to soften," he said.
In Tokyo the US dollar was softer on concerns about the US economy following poor consumer confidence figures overnight, but was underpinned against the yen by wariness of intervention by the Japanese authorities, who had stepped into the market a day earlier.
By 5pm in Wellington the euro had risen to US$1.1672 (US$1.1627), while the US dollar also made up some ground to 111.20 yen (111.01).
On the crosses the kiwi was at A87.26c (A87.44c), 66.27 yen (66.01), 35.83 pence (35.68), 0.7856 Swiss francs (0.7870), and 0.5104 euro (0.5114).
The Australian dollar was at $1.1457 ($1.1436).
The monetary conditions index was at plus 232 (226), the trade-weighted index was at 62.02 (61.94), and 90-day bank bill yields were at 5.18 per cent (5.19).
The February 2005 Government bond yields were at 5.18 per cent (5.24), the November 2006s were at 5.36 per cent (5.42), and the November 2011s were at 5.65 per cent (5.75).
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> NZ dollar takes a breather
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