Kiwi dollar in 'spectacular fall' as markets tumble
Dollar drops "like a brick" amid market jitters.
Hot Topic
Long reads
The New Zealand dollar continued to slide against the greenback overnight as economic worries caused stock markets to fall around the globe.
The dollar dropped to 83.5USc, from more than 85USc yesterday and a high of 88.4USc at the beginning of the week, in what was described as a “spectacular fall” by Bancorp.
“Markets are still very worried about debt,” Bancorp’s commentary said. “The focus of fear has shifted away from the debt ceiling in the US, back to sovereign debt in the Eurozone.
“Stock markets around the world dropped sharply, US two-year bonds fell to a record low, and US 10-year bonds are heading towards their crisis levels, falling to 2.40% overnight.
“The NZD/USD fell like a brick as investors and speculators moved back to the traditional safe havens of the Swiss Franc, Japanese Yen and US dollar.”
The Kiwi also rose against the Yen following the Bank of Japan’s intervention announcement, reaching a high of 68.06¥ but has since fallen back to 66.13¥ on the general sell off of riskier currencies.
The dollar also dropped against the Pound, falling 130 points overnight to 51.45p.
Niko Kloeten
Fri, 05 Aug 2011
Fri, 05 Aug 2011
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
Kiwi dollar in 'spectacular fall' as markets tumble
16219