The kiwi was trading at 62.85 US cents at 5pm. Photo / 123RF
The New Zealand dollar fell as markets continued their roller-coaster ride and investors tried to assess the economic impact of the coronavirus and how effective government and central bank measures will be in cushioning the fallout.
The kiwi was trading at 62.85 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 63.23 cents at the same time yesterday. The trade-weighted index was at 69.84 points from 69.96.
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The currency fell as low as 62.41 cents early today and then started to "very choppily, very choppily stage a recovery," said Mike Shirley, a dealer at Kiwibank.
"A lot of it is the fact that markets are on edge, spreads are widening and liquidity is thinner," he said.
The number of people infected globally rose to 119,214 today from just over 114,000 yesterday. Another 273 people have died, taking the total to 4,298.
Italy's government has placed the entire country on lock-down and New York's state governor has called in the US National Guard to police "a containment area" around a city suburb which has suffered a cluster of cases.
But rather than watching the number of new cases and deaths, the markets' focus has shifted to what governments and central banks are doing to ameliorate the situation, Shirley said.
New Zealand's government has said it is preparing a business continuity package and is looking at providing tax relief. Finance Minister Grant Robertson is due to give a speech at 9am tomorrow and may announce further details then.
On the global front, the next big test will be the European Central Bank's monetary policy meeting on Thursday. Shirley said a lot will depend on how the market reacts to the ECB President Christine Lagarde's comments.
"She's a veteran. She's been around and knows how things work but it will hinge on how that aligns with market expectations," he said. "Any disappointment, or perceived disappointment, may not be well-received."
Closer to home, Australia's government has announced a A$2.4 billion ($2.48b) health package to provide "unprecedented" support across primary care, aged care, hospitals and more.
Meanwhile, a recovery in global equities markets petered out today after a lack of follow-through on an economic rescue plan from US President Donald Trump.
The New Zealand dollar was trading at 96.47 Australian cents from 96.11 cents late yesterday. It was at 48.65 British pence from 48.41, at 55.47 euro cents from 55.49, at 65.82 yen from 65.57, and at 4.3679 Chinese yuan from 4.2869.
The bid price on the two-year swap rate eased to 0.7593 per cent from 0.7599 yesterday while the 10-year swaps climbed to 1.0375 per cent from 1.0150 per cent.
NZ GDP falls 1% in September quarter; analysts expected 0.4% decline.