The kiwi dollar rose to 63.39 euro cents overnight. Photo / File
The New Zealand dollar fell as investors sharpened their focus on the stalled negotiations between US policymakers on how to prevent US$607 billion in automatic spending cuts and tax hikes, which may push the world's biggest economy back into recession.
The kiwi fell to 81.95 US cents at 8.30am in
Wellington from 82.25 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index declined to 73.39 from 73.50 yesterday.
Stocks on Wall Street declined in spite of good economic data as traders grew more pessimistic about legislators' ability to cut a deal and avert the so-called fiscal cliff.
Two-thirds of Americans surveyed in a CNN poll fear the US will face severe economic difficulties if politicians in Washington can't resolve their differences before the cuts and new taxes kick in on January 1. Markets shifted their focus to the US after European finance chiefs yesterday cut a deal to give Greece a sweeter deal in its rescue package.
"The Greek thing was a positive but the market didn't run away with it because of the hang of the fiscal cliff,'' said Imre Speizer, market strategist at Westpac Banking in Auckland.
