NZ dolalr peeks above US66C but settles below
Wed Jul 22 19:21:28 EST 2009
WELLINGTON, July 22 NZPA - For the first time in nine months the New Zealand dollar peeked above US66c in overnight trading on Tuesday, but it spent the domestic day some way below that in a narrow range.
Dealers said anyone trying to predict the future for the currency should keep an eye on global equity markets.
The NZ dollar was at US65.53c at 5pm, from US65.39c at 8am and US65.40c at 5pm yesterday. It spent most of the session between US65.40c and US65.66c.
The main economic news event in this part of the world today was the Australian consumer price index, which was in line with expectations.
The CPI rose by 0.5 per cent in the June quarter to an annual rate of 1.5 per cent.
"The market is just equity driven and there is no fresh data out here," said ANZ Institutional Bank chief foreign exchange dealer Murray Hindley said.
US stocks rose on Tuesday after a solid profit from Caterpillar Inc, but the gains were limited as some investors took profits from the recent rally.
The NZ dollar edged down against its trans-Tasman counterpart, to A80.30c at the local close from A80.51c at 5pm yesterday.
It was little changed at 0.4618 euro and 61.38 yen from 0.4605 euro and 61.39 yen yesterday. It hit three-week highs earlier in the overnight session against both currencies.
The trade weighted index rose to 61.27 at 5pm from 61.20 yesterday.
