The New Zealand dollar continued to follow the euro lower during today's local session after a surging greenback last night sent most other major currencies south.
The kiwi closed at US67.30c at 5pm in Wellington from US68.97c at the same time yesterday, having traded between US67.25c and US68.08c.
A Wellington dealer said
the kiwi had moved lower as the euro failed to bounce from "last night's little onslaught".
The euro slid by more than US2.35c last night, the biggest fall in absolute terms for the single European currency since it was launched on January 1, 1999.
Meanwhile the Reserve Bank of Australia kept interest rates unchanged at 5.25 per cent today but the dealer said the tone of the RBA's accompanying statement was "hawkish".
The aussie was at US75.60c at 5pm in Wellington from US77.27c at the same time yesterday.
The kiwi eased against the aussie today to A89.03c (A89.25c at 5pm yesterday), while the aussie was buying $1.1223 ($1.1204).
Looking ahead, the dealer said the kiwi would look for direction from tonight's rate call from the European Central Bank, and more crucially Friday's US payrolls data.
The euro was at US$1.2188 at 5pm (US$1.2438) and the greenback was buying 110.18 yen (108.07).
On the crosses at 5pm, the kiwi was buying 0.5524 euro (0.5545), 74.16 yen (75.23), 36.65 British pence (36.94), and 0.8747 Swiss Francs (0.8753).
The trade-weighted index fell to 67.62 (68.47), while the monetary conditions index was at plus 708 (771).
The 90-day bank bill yields were at 5.65 per cent (5.39).
The February 2006 yields were at 5.57 per cent (5.49), July 2009 bonds were at 5.77 per cent (5.69) and the April 2013s were at 5.92 per cent (5.83).
- NZPA
