Kiwi fights back, then tumbles again

Friday 4th March 2011

The New Zealand dollar lost two-thirds of a cent against the greenback through the early morning, after regaining the level it was at before Prime Minister John Keys commented on interest rates on Wednesday.

By 8am the kiwi was at US74.03c, having topped US74.70c around midnight then fallen quickly to US73.90c before pulling out of the dive.

The NZ dollar also fell to its lowest level in more than 18 years against the Australian dollar around A72.90c, and was near that level at 8am, having fallen from A73.25c at 5pm yesterday.

Against the European currency, the kiwi bottomed at its lowest level in more than nine months around 0.5300 euro, and by 8am was at 0.5310 euro from 0.5370 at 5pm.

In the wider market, the euro gained against the US dollar to a fresh four-month high, edging toward the psychologically important US$1.40 level, after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet cemented expectations of a near-term interest rate rise.

In a press conference after the ECB left its benchmark rate at 1.0%, Trichet said the bank will exercise "strong vigilance" over rising inflation, a phrase that in the past signaled a rate rise was only a month away.

The greenback did rise against the yen, getting a lift after data showed new US claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to their lowest level in more than 2-1/2 years. A separate report showed the US services sector grew at a slightly faster pace in February to another five-year high.

BNZ currency strategist Mike Jones said the initial rise of the NZ dollar came amid a marked reduction in risk aversion, as confirmation a peace proposal was being considered for Libya saw global stock markets post solid gains.

But the NZ currency back-pedalled following the ECB president's comments and the US data, and after comments from the International Monetary Fund that it was likely to cut New Zealand's growth forecasts in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake.

The NZ dollar did edge up to 60.99 yen at 8am from 60.89 at 5pm, while the trade weighted index dropped to 65.27 from 65.67.

NZPA

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