KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand dollar had a bumpy night ahead of the release of December quarter unemployment figures.
Around 8am the kiwi was buying US50.78c, having ranged overnight between about US51.50c and US50.20c.
ANZ bank said the inability of the kiwi to break through resistance at US51.69c had meant an overnight dip of reasonable proportions.
Affirmation by Moody's Investors Service of New Zealand's Aaa credit rating should help add support to the NZ dollar, ANZ said.
The greenback received support overnight from a report showing the United States service sector shrank less severely in January than expected. That followed another report showing United States private sector job losses slowed slightly last month.
Declines in the euro started with news of a downgrade in Russian sovereign debt.
By today's local open, the NZ dollar was stronger against the European currency at 0.3955 euro from 0.3930 at 5pm yesterday.
The kiwi was down against the Australian dollar to A78.66c at 8am from A78.90c at yesterday's local close, and also down to 45.48 yen from 45.78. The trade weighted index dropped to 51.31 at 8am from 51.48 at 5pm.
BNZ Capital currency strategist Danica Hampton said the Household Labour Force Survey, due out at 10.45am, would likely show the labour market had gone from "red hot to stone cold".
BNZ was expecting the unemployment rate to climb to a five-year high in the December quarter of 4.6 per cent, from 4.2 per cent in the three months to September, she said.
- NZPA
