NZ dollar eases but manages to close off session low

January 6 - Close

New Zealand dollar dipped after prices in a Fonterra online auction of whole milkpowder eased but ended near where it began the session.

The NZ dollar was at US73.37c at 5pm, virtually unchanged from US73.36c at 8am and up slightly from US73.27c at 5pm on Tuesday. It traded as low as US73.14c today.

Average whole milkpowder (WMP) prices fell 7 per cent at today's online auction at Fonterra's global DairyTrade website. The decline was seen as a minor correction after five months of price rises totalling 95 per cent.

"It helped take the shine off the kiwi first thing this morning but the US dollar was generally stronger across the board," said BNZ Capital senior strategist Danica Hampton.

"There has also been a bit of interest to sell kiwi from speculative accounts," she said.

The NZ dollar eased to A80.27c from A80.30c yesterday.

"We have seen a bit of interest to buy the aussie against the kiwi and that also helped to keep the kiwi easier," Ms Hampton said.

Australian building approvals data today was also stronger than expected.

The US dollar climbed to a four-month high against the yen earlier this week on optimism about the US economy but some wariness is emerging as the week progresses ahead of the US non-farm payroll report later this week.

The NZ dollar also lifted to 0.5109 euro from 0.5071 yesterday, but was down to 67.39 yen from 67.53 at yesterday's local close.

The trade weighted index lifted to 66.75 from 66.5.

- NZPA