NZ dollar slips vs greenback, yen

The New Zealand dollar slipped against the greenback and yen after Fitch Ratings downgraded Spain's credit rating, rekindling concerns about a sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone.

Fitch cut Spain's credit rating by one notch to AA-plus, saying the country's economic recovery will be "more muted" than the government forecast due to its austerity measures.

The United States dollar and yen gained as stocks fell in the US and data showing US consumer spending unexpectedly stalled in April weighed on risk appetite.

By 8am today, the NZ dollar was down to US67.77c from US68.04c at 5pm on Friday, and down to 61.61 yen at the local open from 61.98 at the local close on Friday.

Against the European currency, the kiwi was barely changed at 0.5528 euro at 8am today, while it was up against the Australian dollar to A80.32c at the local open from A80.09c at 5pm on Friday. The trade weighted index was 65.84 at 8am today from 65.97 at 5pm on Friday.

ANZ bank said the NZ dollar's renewed failure to sustain a move above US68.50c was not surprising given the weakness of the euro.

It expected euro moves to start this week should have the NZ dollar struggling to maintain the momentum it had late last week.

Liquidity and volatility could potentially be limited during the next 24 hours, with US markets closed for Memorial Day and British markets closed for the May bank holiday.

- NZPA