Hot Topic
SCIENCE
The New Zealand dollar gained as upbeat local retail spending figures and improving Australian business confidence mixed local buoyancy with uncertainty over the US Federal Reserve's plans to unwind stimulus after a lacklustre US jobs report on Friday.
The kiwi traded at 80.43 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 80.22 cents at 8am, and up from 79.80 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index advanced to 75.70 from 75.41 yesterday.
Core retail spending in New Zealand rose 1.1 percent last month, underpinned by stronger demand for durable goods, according to government figures. Across the Tasman, the National Australia Bank confidence index climbed to its highest level since 2011 as firms became more upbeat in the lead-up to a change of government.
The stronger economic figures added to concerns the US Fed won't pull back as fast on its plans to wind back its US$85 billion a month asset purchase programme after jobs growth came in below expectations in August.
"Renewed uncertainty about the likelihood of Fed tapering in September has dulled the appeal of the US dollar, fuelling renewed gains in the likes of the kiwi and Aussie," said Mike Jones, currency strategist at Bank of New Zealand in Wellington. "Upbeat economic data in the Antipodeans is adding to kiwi and Aussie demand."
Investors have regained some of their diminished confidence in higher-yielding assets as the prospects of a US-led military strike against Syria over its presumed use of chemical weapons have reduced, and amid expectations of improving Chinese data.
The New Zealand dollar traded at 86.75 Australian cents at 5pm in Wellington, unchanged from yesterday, and advanced to 80.10 yen from 79.54 yen. The local currency rose to 60.62 euro cents from 60.57 yesterday and gained to 51.23 British pence from 50.99 pence.
(BusinessDesk)
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
NZ dollar gains as upbeat trans-Tasman data adds to fears over Fed tapering
32217