NZ dollar climbs

The New Zealand dollar headed into the weekend around its best level since late June as the Australian dollar held near two-week highs in the wake of strong employment data yesterday.

Investors are also generally more comfortable with so-called risky currencies as equity markets continue to perform well.

The NZ dollar was at US71.00c at 5pm, up from US70.95c at 8am and US70.35c at 5pm yesterday. It had scaled the US71c in Thursday night trading.

The rise came after data showed new claims for US unemployment insurance fell more than expected last week and several top US retail chains reported stronger June same-store sales, supporting demand for stocks and other higher-risk assets.

The Australian dollar continued a strong run after it was reported yesterday that employment growth soared in Australia in June.

It was at US87.60c at 5pm from US87.16c at 5pm yesterday. The NZ dollar rose to A81.01c from A80.75c yesterday.

Retail spending on electronic cards rose 0.4 per cent in June following growth of a similar magnitude in May. Excluding motor vehicle related spending, core sales rose 0.7 per cent.

ANZ said that putting monthly volatility aside, it remains a case of a gradual improvement in consumer spending, rather than something more lively.

The NZ dollar eased to 0.5597 euro at 5pm from 0.5665 at the same time yesterday and was 62.91 yen at 5pm from 62.20 yen yesterday.

The trade weighted index rose to 67.36 at 5pm from 66.91 yesterday.

- NZPA