The New Zealand dollar dipped at the start of the new quarter as the mounting rhetoric among central bankers for interest rates to rise puts the Reserve Bank's 'neutral' policy stance out of step with its peers.
The kiwi slipped to 73.16 US cents as at 8am in Wellington from 73.32 cents on Friday in New York and down from 72.28 cents at the local close last week. The trade-weighted index was at 78.33 from 78.25 last week.
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US bond yields rose on Friday for a fourth straight day with 10-year Treasuries closing the week at 2.3 per cent as central bankers last week talked up the prospect of higher interest rates after running near-zero policies for almost a decade. While that's at odds with Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler's neutral bias, New Zealand's 10-year swap rate has jumped 23 basis points to 3.35 per cent since June 27 and two-year swaps have climbed 12 basis points to 2.32 per cent since June 28.