Speizer said markets are now watching and waiting for any reaction out of the US. "It's not clear what they will do and until it looks like it will escalate the market will take the view that it's bad but things always calm down, or at least they have so far," he said.
The kiwi also lost ground when the Ministry for Primary Industries said three new properties tested positive for the bacterial cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis, bringing the total number of infected farms to six. MPI has said Mycoplasma bovis is commonly found in cattle globally, including in Australia and it does not infect humans and presents no food safety risk. It is the first time it has been found in New Zealand.
The kiwi dollar fell to 60.32 euro cents from 60.70 cents yesterday. It slipped to 91.12 Australian cents from 91.17 cents and traded at 55.82 British pence from 56.18 pence. The kiwi fell to 4.7735 yuan from 4.8051 yuan.
The trade-weighted index fell to 75.66 from 75.86.
The two-year swap rate fell 2 basis points to 2.14 while the 10-year swaps fell 4 basis points to 3.08 per cent.