NZ dollar hovers above US73c

November 20 - Open

The New Zealand dollar continued tumbling through much of the night amid a pullback in risk appetite as global economic data fails to live up to expectations.

The kiwi started falling from around US74.60c at lunchtime yesterday, bottoming at a two-week low around US72.70c about 5am, back below levels last seen before the surge sparked when Fonterra lifted its forecast payout.

 At 8am the NZ dollar was buying US73.07c.

The US dollar, along with the yen, rallied broadly as safe haven demand revived for the US and Japanese currencies.

Analysts said investors were turning cautious after recent economic data has not been as rosy as forecast, increasing worries that the sharp rally in risky assets over the past several months may have been overdone.

As well as falling against the greenback, the NZ dollar reached two-week lows against the European and Japanese currencies. At 8am the kiwi was down to 0.4899 euro from 0.4946 at 5pm, and fell to 64.97 yen from 65.73 at the local close.

Against the Australian dollar, the kiwi slipped to A79.54c at the local open from A79.76c, while the trade weighted index dropped to 65.19 at 8am from 65.78 at 5pm.

NZPA