The New Zealand dollar is heading for a 3.2 per cent weekly gain against the greenback after US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen's cautious outlook on the US economy saw investors dial back expectations for a rise in US interest rates and eroded demand for the world's reserve currency.
The kiwi rose to US68.96c at 5pm yesterday from US66.82c a week before in New York. It hit a nine-month high US69.66c during Northern Hemisphere trading overnight on Thursday. The trade-weighted index was little changed at 72.85 from 72.93 on Thursday and is heading for a 1.9 per cent weekly gain.
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Yellen urged caution on future rate hikes. That pushed the greenback lower against most major currencies and investorswere awaiting US non-farm payrolls data overnight to see whether that caution is warranted.
A "bad number" would further weaken the US dollar, said Michael Johnston, a senior trader at HiFX in Auckland.