close
MENU
1 mins to read

NZ dollar rises after strong Australian jobs report

The New Zealand dollar rose today after a stronger than expected employment report in Australia made this part of the world a more attractive investment destination.The NZ dollar was 74.06USc at 5pm, up from 73.92USc at 8am and little changed from 74.04US

NZPA
Thu, 14 Jan 2010

The New Zealand dollar rose today after a stronger than expected employment report in Australia made this part of the world a more attractive investment destination.

The NZ dollar was 74.06USc at 5pm, up from 73.92USc at 8am and little changed from 74.04USc at 5pm yesterday.

It lost some ground against the Australian dollar to be 79.66Ac at 5pm from 80.22Ac at the same time yesterday.

The Australian dollar rose to be 92.95USc at 5pm from 92.26USc at the same time yesterday.

A net 35,200 new jobs were created in Australia in December, more than three times the market forecast. The jobless rate dropped to 5.5%, the lowest since April, from a downwardly revised 5.6% in November.

Mike Jones, currency strategist at BNZ, said the data was not as strong as appeared with some of the increase being in part-time employment.

"It is just another sign that growth in this part of the world looks reasonably well founded," he said. "What is good for the Australian economy tends to be good for the New Zealand economy."

The US dollar market is trading in a range ahead of the release of retail sales data in the US tonight. The European Central Bank is also due to make an announcement overnight.

The NZ dollar was €0.5094 at 5pm from €0.5114 at 5pm yesterday, while it rose to ¥67.94 from ¥67.39.

The trade weighted index was 66.79, down from 66.92.

NZPA
Thu, 14 Jan 2010
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
NZ dollar rises after strong Australian jobs report
1613
false