Kiwi falls after US jobs boost greenback, Australian trade deficit widens
The trade deficit across the Tasman widened to $A1.06 billion in January from a revised $A688 million a month earlier.
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The New Zealand dollar fell after upbeat US private sector jobs data built up expectations for employment in the world's biggest economy and after Australia's trade deficit was bigger than forecast.
The kiwi traded at 82.74 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 82.78 cents at 8am, down from 83.29 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index declined to 76.14 from 76.32.
The Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 0.4 percent to 82.49 after figures showed US private employers added 198,000 jobs last month, according to the ADP National Employment Report.
That comes ahead of official non-farm payrolls figures on Friday and against the backdrop of the Federal Reserve linking its quantitative easing programme to unemployment.
The local currency took a further knock in the local session after Australia's trade deficit widened to $A1.06 billion in January from a revised $A688 million a month earlier. A survey of economists by Bloomberg was picking a shortfall of $A500 million.
The kiwi fell to 80.77 Australian cents from 80.97 cents yesterday.
"The weak Aussie trade numbers took the Aussie dollar lower and the kiwi went with it," says Alex Hill, currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. "She's in a range-trade," he says, referring to the kiwi.
The European Central Bank's policy statement will come out overnight in Brussels and traders will be looking for comments on Italy's electoral impasse, while the Bank of England will also review its monetary policy and may review its £375 billion asset purchase programme.
The kiwi traded at 63.70 euro cents from 63.70 cents yesterday, and increased to 55.17 British pence from 55 pence. It was little changed at 77.67 yen from 77.58 yen yesterday.
(BusinessDesk)
Paul McBeth
Wed, 11 Jul 2018
Wed, 11 Jul 2018
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Kiwi falls after US jobs boost greenback, Australian trade deficit widens
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