NZ dollar gains with commodity currencies

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The New Zealand dollar rose against the greenback, in line with other commodity currencies as the CRB Index rose to a six-month high. It gained against the euro as Spain tightened its grip on independence-minded Catalan.

The kiwi traded at 68.58 US cents as at 8:30am in Wellington, having reached 68.79 cents in New York on Friday, from 68.40 cents in Wellington at the end of last week. It traded at 59.09 euro cents, little changed from New York and up from 58.76 cents in Wellington last week.

The CRB Index of 19 commonly traded commodities rose to a six-month high on Friday and Brent crude oil climbed above US$60 (NZ$87) a barrel. Other growth-related news included US gross domestic product rising a faster-than-expected 3 per cent, on an annualised basis, in the third quarter, while stocks on Wall Street charted new records. The greenback, which rose on the GDP data, trimmed its gains on reports that US President Donald Trump is leaning toward current Federal Reserve board member Jerome Powell to be the next chair.

"Commodity currencies outperformed on Friday, with the NZD leading the charge, while global rates fell," said Jason Wong, currency strategist at Bank of New Zealand.

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The euro fell last week after the European Central Bank said it would cut bond purchases as expected but otherwise kept its dovish tone and "political turmoil in Spain did the common currency no favours," he said.

The kiwi traded at 89.32 Australian cents, unchanged from New York and down from 89.58 cents in Wellington at the end of last week, with the Australian dollar hurt by the ruling that deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce's dual-citizenship invalidates his election, meaning the government no longer has a one-seat majority.

"Joyce looks set to regain his seat in a December by-election after renouncing his NZ citizenship and in the meantime, the government has support on confidence and supply by at least one independent MP," Wong said.

The trade-weighted index was at 73, down from 73.12 at the end of last week. It traded at 4.5638 yuan from 4.5611 yuan and traded at 52.27 British pence from 52.25 pence. The currency was unchanged at 78 yen.