"When the actual numbers came out, they were exactly the opposite so the kiwi got hit," said Martin Rudings, an adviser at OMF.
Then came the Australian jobs numbers for May, which were also worse than expected with jobs falling 227,000 compared to expectations of 78,800. Job losses in April were also increased by 13,100.
On top of that, "equities markets are down and it wouldn't surprise me if we see further downside in the kiwi," Rudings said.
"The market is concerned about the rise in covid numbers – I think that's what stopped the equities markets from rising," he said.
The S&P 500 Index futures were down nearly 1 percent late in the NZ trading day and stock markets in Australasia and Asia were also weaker.
New Zealand reported another case of infection today, a man who had travelled from Pakistan via Doha and Melbourne, who is now in quarantine in Auckland with his travelling companion.
The fiasco of the two women who travelled from Britain to a parent's funeral got worse today. They were allowed to travel the length of the North Island without being tested, and have since tested positive for the virus.
The number of people they had been in contact with since arriving in the country was revised up to 364 people from the 320 reported yesterday.
And now Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her deputy, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, are at odds over whether heads should roll over the affair, Ardern insisting she doesn't want a witch hunt but Peters saying the error was an unacceptable failure.
The New Zealand dollar was trading at 93.69 Australian cents from 93.76 late yesterday, at 51.33 British pence from 51.31 pence, at 57.25 euro cents from 57.18 cents, at 68.87 yen from 69.09 yen and 4.5580 Chinese yuan from 4.5696 yuan.
The bid price on the two-year swap was at 0.2100 per cent from 0.2230 per cent, while the 10-year swap was at 0.7200 percent from 0.7530 per cent yesterday.
