The New Zealand dollar eased today in subdued trading following yesterday's volatile action in the face of a further horror current account number.
The kiwi ended on US66.04c, about 10 pips below its opening and virtually unchanged from yesterday's close.
Against the aussie, the NZ dollar firmed to A87.31c from A87.20c yesterday but was well below its A88c level before the current account data.
The kiwi eased against other currencies and the trade weighted index ended the week on 66.04 from 66.22.
ANZ said the NZ dollar was helped off lows overnight by US dollar weakness, but the kiwi underperformed on crosses against other currencies.
BNZ said it expected concerns about the imbalance in New Zealand's external accounts to eventually contribute to weakness in the NZ dollar.
"But in the short term that seems very unlikely with the markets focused quite strongly on interest rate differentials."
Deutsche Bank said it now expected the Reserve Bank was more likely than not to raise New Zealand interest rates again before the end of the year.
The US dollar hit a two-week low against the yen after data showed more signs of a slowdown in the US economy, keeping expectations high that interest rates will stay on hold.
Against the euro, the US currency also hovered around its lowest level in two weeks.
The US dollar was stung after the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's business activity survey for September showed its first negative reading in over three years, indicating a significant decline in manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region.
Thursday's data drove the dollar down nearly 1 per cent against its two major rivals, and dealers said that the US currency was becoming more vulnerable to soft economic figures.
While the dollar is hanging on to its rate advantage against the euro and the yen, the end to the Fed's two-year tightening cycle in June came just as key rates elsewhere are on the rise.
Rates in the euro zone are at 3 per cent, and are expected to climb as high as 4 per cent next year, while the Bank of England last month raised to 4.75 per cent.
The Bank of Japan ended its zero-rate policy in July, and is seen eventually raising rates from 0.25 per cent -- albeit at a snail's pace.
Reuters currency rates:
5pm today 5pm Thursday
NZ dlr/US dlr US66.04c US66.05c
NZ dlr/Aust dlr A87.31c A87.20c
NZ dlr/euro 0.5162 0.5198
NZ dlr/yen 76.83 77.30
NZ dlr/stg 34.70p 34.90p
NZ TWI 66.04 66.22
Australian dollar US75.61c US75.70c
Euro/US dollar 1.2791 1.2720
US dollar/yen 116.34 117.08
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> NZ dollar trades quietly lower
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