The kiwi fell to 71.94 US cents as at 8am in Wellington. Photo / 123RF
The New Zealand dollar fell below 72 US cents to a 2 1/2-month low as reports on US economic growth and private jobs printed stronger than expected.
The kiwi fell to 71.94 US cents as at 8am in Wellington and earlier touched 71.86 cents, the lowest since mid-June, from 72.61
cents late yesterday. The trade-weighted index fell to 75.50 from 75.89.
US private payrolls rose by 237,000 in August, beating estimates of a 185,000 gain, after a revised 201,000 jobs were added in July.
The figures may cause some economists to revise up their forecasts for the official payrolls data out on Friday which is expected to show 180,000 jobs added this month. Meanwhile, second-quarter gross domestic product in the US rose at a revised 3 per cent annual rate against expectations of a 2.7 per cent gain.
"This put the USD in the ascendancy with broad-based gains with perhaps some extra support from month-end buying," said Doug Steel, an economist at Bank of New Zealand.
