Kiwi falls against the greenback

November 13 - Open

The New Zealand dollar fell steadily against the greenback through the night, as several policymakers around the world warned that economic recovery was fragile.

That prompted investors to take profits on gains in higher-yielding currencies and assets.

Also, a weekly jobless report in the United States showed first-time claims for jobless benefits fell in the latest week, initially prompting some to buy the greenback against the yen.

By 8am the kiwi was buying US73.26c from US74.03c at 5pm yesterday.

BNZ Capital strategist Mike Jones said the level of the NZ dollar against the greenback at the local open was pretty much back where it started the week.

The NZ dollar had briefly headed up to around US74.40c yesterday - around 1.30pm - as it trailed in the Australian dollar's slipstream, after upbeat Australian jobs data showed employment across the Tasman rose by 24,500 in October, confounding forecasters expecting a 10,000 fall.

The highs for the kiwi had not lasted long, and overnight the broad-based strengthening of the US dollar knocked some of the wind out of the NZ currency, Mr Jones said.

A lacklustre performance across global equity markets and downbeat comments from World Trade Organisation director general Pascal Lamy tempered appetite for risk.

That increased safe haven demand for the US dollar, at the expense of growth-sensitive currencies such as the NZ dollar. An easing in commodities prices added to the mix.

The NZ dollar edged up against the Australian dollar to A79.31c at 8am yesterday from A79.20c at 5pm yesterday, and slipped to 66.24 yen from 66.43.

The kiwi was also little changed at 0.4928 euro at the local open, while the trade weighted index was 65.53 at 8am from 65.85 at 5pm.

NZPA