NZ dollar little changed as traders await further developments in Greece

Tuesday 7th July 2015

The New Zealand dollar was little changed overnight as traders who have fled to the perceived safety of currencies such as the yen awaited further developments in Greece.

The kiwi edged up to 66.84 US cents at 8am in Wellington, from 66.71 cents at 5pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index was at 70.47 from 70.40 yesterday.

Currency markets stabilised overnight, after initial concerns about a possible 'Grexit' prompted demand for safe haven investments and away from higher risk assets such as the kiwi. Greece voted against a bailout plan in a referendum at the weekend, and the country's finance minister Yanis Vaoufakis resigned, potentially paving the way for better relations with the country's creditors.

"We have seen the initial rush to safety, led by the yen," said Peter Cavanaugh, client adviser at Bancorp Treasury Services. "We've seen a little adjustment to people's risk positioning. It is a holding pattern but the attitude towards risk remains fragile. It's still a long long way from resolution."

In New Zealand today, the focus will be on the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research quarterly survey of business opinion. While confidence will probably ease, the survey doesn't capture the agriculture sector, which has been hurt by declining dairy prices, analysts said.

In Australia, all eyes will be on the Reserve Bank of Australia meeting, where interest rates are expected to remain unchanged.

The New Zealand dollar slipped to 89.11 Australian cents from 89.20 cents yesterday and advanced to 81.87 yen from 81.63 yen. It was little changed at 60.45 euro cents from 60.49 cents, and at 42.82 British pence from 42.89 pence.BusinessDesk)

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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