The New Zealand dollar traded near a month high today and investors started looking ahead to next week's gross domestic product and current account data.The NZ dollar was at 70.39USc at 5pm from 70.35USc at 8am and 69.57USc at 5pm yesterday. It pushe
The New Zealand dollar traded near a month high today and investors started looking ahead to next week's gross domestic product and current account data.
The NZ dollar was at 70.39USc at 5pm from 70.35USc at 8am and 69.57USc at 5pm yesterday. It pushed to 70.61USc on Thursday night, according to Reuters data.
Equity markets were lacklustre in Asia today so there was no lead from that direction today.
The euro steadied near three-week highs while a decline in the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's mid-Atlantic manufacturing index and a rise in first-time jobless claims in the US continued to weigh on the US dollar.
The NZ dollar was little changed against the euro from yesterday's local close, settling at €0.5678 at 5pm from €0.5671 at the same time yesterday.
The NZ dollar was up to ¥63.88 at 5pm from ¥63.48 at close yesterday, and was little changed on 80.98Ac against the Australian dollar.
Westpac said there was a wide range of forecasts between a 0.2% rise and 0.8% rise for next Thursday's first quarter gross domestic product figure.
"Still, nothing within that range would derail the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's plan to steadily normalise the official cash rate, so the scope for significant market movements is small. For our part, we see the risks as balanced either side of our 0.7 percent forecast," Westpac said in a preview.
ANZ expects to see an improvement in the current account deficit, which is due on Wednesday next week.
