WELLINGTON - The New Zealand dollar traded in a tight range yesterday after banks sold themselves short. A flat Australian currency did not help the kiwi.
The kiwi ended the day at 45.94USc from 46.12c at Thursday's close, and the aussie was down from 59.05c to 58.76c.
"As expected there was a tight range and there were a few stops underneath 45.95c, where a lot of the banks were targeting to see if they could push it a little bit lower," a currency dealer said.
"They did - it hit the stops and got down to 45.75c. The banks got caught a bit short on the back of that and it drifted back up towards the 45.90c to 45.95c level, where we are now.
"The only movement we really had was the attraction of the stops. I think we're done for the day - if anything we're stuck now in a 45.80c to 46.10c range," the dealer said.
"With New York overnight, obviously the stops have been taken out of the bottom side so if anything, it might go a little higher but there's nothing really special out there."
Yesterday morning, finance house HSBC said in a commentary the New Zealand dollar looked precarious at recent lows. "A break below the 45.80/90c region is likely to give way to a test of the 45.40/50c level.
"Failure to break convincingly back above the 46.25/35USc region should mean that the market continues to focus on the downside for now."
- NZPA
Kiwi finishes under 46USc
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