By LIAM DANN AND AGENCIES
US employment figures, European interest rates and the condition of Alan Greenspan's heart are conspiring to give the kiwi dollar a bumpy ride this week.
The New Zealand dollar hit a three-week high yesterday, threatening to break through 67USc before dropping back to 66.3USc.
The movement was driven
by the volatile US dollar which nosedived against the yen and the other major currencies overnight.
The greenback had been under pressure on perceptions that Japan had decelerated its yen-selling intervention and a rumour - later denied - that US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, 78, had suffered a heart attack further undermined the currency.
ANZ director of foreign exchange John Body said further volatility was likely in the next 24 hours because of two key market events which would determine the kiwi's short-term fate.
The European Central Bank (ECB) will decide whether to cut interest rates this morning.
"If the ECB cuts rates then the US dollar should be strong against the euro," Body said. "That generally correlates to the US dollar being strong against the kiwi."
The US payroll number - the equivalent of our employment data - is also due today.
The one thing lacking in the US economy had been the creation of jobs, Body said. That data would provide a big indicator of whether the US recovery was really kicking in.
He said before those two events the kiwi was trading with a wide range but not with any sense of conviction.
