The New Zealand dollar briefly touched US73c early today against a greenback which weakened broadly as soft inflation and manufacturing data added to concerns about the strength of the United States economy.Reuters data showed that after a bumpy night dur
The New Zealand dollar briefly touched US73c early today against a greenback which weakened broadly as soft inflation and manufacturing data added to concerns about the strength of the United States economy.
Reuters data showed that after a bumpy night during which it dropped below US71.80c, the kiwi was buying US72.84c at 8am today, having just a few minutes earlier spurted to its highest level since early May.
The NZ dollar fell to 0.5631 euros at the local open from 0.5650 at 5pm as the European currency soared to a two-month high against the greenback above $US1.29.
US producer prices declined for a third straight month, with the data coming just a day after minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest meeting revealed that policy makers think they may need to do more to boost the US economy if a sputtering recovery slows any further.
Weak reports on New York and mid-Atlantic factory activity also hurt the US dollar, as did data a day earlier showing retail sales fell for a second straight month.
The data "is going to give traders further reason to dump the (US) dollar as the risk shifts from Europe to the United States," said Kathy Lien, director of FX research at GFT Forex in New York. "Overall, US fundamentals are making the US less attractive to investors."
The kiwi pushed to a nine-month high against the Australian dollar around A82.60c about 7.30am, climbing from A81.78c at the local close.
ANZ bank said it was no surprise the NZ dollar had made further gains against the aussie, given political talk was intensifying in Australia.
The NZ dollar was also up to 63.62 yen at 8am from 63.38 at 5pm, while the trade weighted index rose to 68.35 at the local open from 68.08.
