The New Zealand dollar briefly returned overnight to the level it was at against the greenback before Monday's big aftershocks in Christchurch, as encouraging economic data from China and the United States lifted stocks, oil and other growth-oriented m
The New Zealand dollar briefly returned overnight to the level it was at against the greenback before Monday's big aftershocks in Christchurch, as encouraging economic data from China and the United States lifted stocks, oil and other growth-oriented markets.
The US dollar was lower against most major currencies, as an improvement in global risk appetite saw investors chase higher yielding currencies.
The kiwi peaked near US82.15c around 9pm, and at 8am today was buying US81.81c, little different to its level at 5pm yesterday.
It was a different story against the Australian dollar, with the kiwi dipping early today to be around one-week lows at A76.58c by 8am, down from A76.95c at 5pm yesterday.
ANZ bank said the strength of the aussie off the back of stronger Chinese data yesterday had been enough to break support for the NZ dollar. Further falls on the cross were likely with a potential dip towards A76.12c possible today should Australian June consumer inflation expectations lift.
China's industrial output in May beat market expectations with a 13.3 percent jump from a year earlier, though it slipped slightly from April. Inflation hit a 34-month high of 5.5 percent, but investors shrugged off another bank reserve hike by China's central bank.
While US retail sales fell in May for the first time in 11 months, the slip was less than expected. Producer prices rose less than expected, braking sharply from April.
The rise in risk appetite buoyed the euro, despite nagging worries about Greece's debt crisis.
The NZ dollar slipped to 0.5660 euro at 8am from 0.5670 euro at 5pm, while edging up to 65.84 yen from 65.69. The trade weighted index was 70.37 at 8am from 70.43 at 5pm.
