Kiwi edges lower as central bank meetings awaited
Investors are waiting for an update on the economic health of the eurozone.
Investors are waiting for an update on the economic health of the eurozone.
The New Zealand dollar edged lower in local trading as investors await the central bank meetings in Europe, the UK and the Bank of Japan.
The kiwi traded at 84.08 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 84.17 cents at 8am and 84.02 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index decreased to 77.07 from 77.18.
Investors are waiting for an update on the economic health of the eurozone when the European Central Bank and Bank of England announce the results of their monetary policy reviews, with the region beset by sovereign debt crises and renewed speculation about the future of the currency.
Meanwhile, Japan's central bank is poised to make its first review under new governor Haruhiko Kuroda, who has promised to be more of an activist than his predecessor. The kiwi fell to 78.10 yen at 5pm from 78.57 yen yesterday.
"It's pretty understandable that we're not seeing much happen until we trigger off all of these meetings," says Chris Tennent-Brown, FX economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. "The kiwi's struggling to get beyond 84.40 US cents, but it's still high at these levels."
US employment figures on Friday are also on investors' minds after private payrolls data showed companies added 158,000 jobs in March, missing estimates and raising fears non-farm payrolls may be weaker than expected.
The kiwi slipped to 80.26 Australian cents from 80.36 cents yesterday after better than expected retail sales figures across the Tasman.
The local currency fell to 55.55 British pence from 55.69 pence and fell to 65.42 euro cents from 65.60 cents.
(BusinessDesk)