The New Zealand dollar edged down against the US dollar today ahead of all important non-farm payroll figures out of the US tonight.
The kiwi ended the day slightly down on yesterday's close, US60.40c against US60.48c.
"The US dollar had a big rally earlier in the week and that's what brought the kiwi back down from US61.20c and dropped it nearly a cent," a National Bank dealer said.
However, he predicted the jobs data would be disappointing, prompting a selloff on the US dollar.
He expected the kiwi dollar to eventually bounce back but that it would "continue to waste on the crosses" .
He forecast a fall in the kiwi-euro cross from today's close of 4730 to around 4600.
Because they were shy of the kiwi-US, investors were taking their risks in other positions, Danica Hampton, BNZ currency strategist, said.
She said the kiwi-aussie cross had been popular in recent days, although it had fallen half a cent today to A80.99c (A81.52c yesterday), driven by fund buying and position squaring
"There's quite a lot of two-way flow," she said.
There had also been some choppy trade in the kiwi-yen, which closed at 69.55 yen (69.82 yen).
Ms Hampton said the kiwi was struggling to break below 69.50 yen because of yen weakness on the back of the North Korean missile tests.
The trade-weighted index dropped to 60.62 from 61.84 yesterday.
Offshore, the US dollar stalled against the euro after European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet pledged "strong vigilance" in curbing inflation, reinforcing expectations for another rate hike.
However, strong US employment data could boost speculation that the Fed will also lift rates at its next meeting in August.
5pm today 5pm Thursday
NZ dlr US60.40c US60.48c
NZ dlr/Aust dlr A80.99c A81.52c
NZ dlr/euro 0.4730 0.4749
NZ dlr/yen 69.55 69.82
NZ dlr/stg 32.88p 32.95p
NZ TWI 60.62 60.84
Australian dollar US74.56c US74.22c
Euro/US dollar US1.2770 US1.2735
US dollar/yen 115.17 115.50
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> NZD moribund as all eyes on us payroll data
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