NZ dollar holds gains after Euro debt rally

Photo / Dean Purcell

The New Zealand dollar is holding near the level it recovered to last week after European leaders struck a deal to shore up the region's debt, as investors wait for a big week of data and interest rate decisions globally.

The kiwi dollar rose to 82.22 US cents at 8am from 81.93 cents at 5pm on Friday. It was broadly weaker during the weekend but managed to trade as high as 82.40 cents.

There is a lot going on this week with speculation the Reserve Bank of Australia may cut its benchmark interest rate of 4.75 per cent by 25 basis points and talk that the Federal Reserve may embark on a third round of quantitative easing.

"I think it will tread sideways today. It is going to take its cues from offshore." said Mike Burrowes, market strategist at Bank of New Zealand.

The Fed pledged in August to hold the benchmark interest rate near zero at least through the middle of 2013 so long as unemployment is high and inflation is low.

The European Central bank also meets. Data includes Asian PMI data, local employment data and US payrolls data on Friday.

Investors also want to see if the deal struck last week after a late night meeting of European Union leaders is built on at a Group of 20 meeting in Cannes next weekend. And, there is speculation that Japan will intervene to knock the yen down after it hit a post-World War II high of 75.66 last week.

The kiwi surged last week on a relief rally that European policymakers cut a deal they hope will fix the region's banking system and stop Greece's sovereign indebtedness from spreading.

The initial optimism has been tempered as some negative comments about the deal emerge and there are doubts it will hold together.

The kiwi rose to 76.83 Australian cents from 76.68 cents on Friday and was little changed at 62.14 yen from 62.15.

It climbed to 58.19 euro cents from 57.82 cents on Friday, and was little changed at 50.99 British pence from 50.95 pence on Friday.

The trade-weighted index climbed to 70.69 from 70.36.