The New Zealand dollar eased overnight ahead of the Reserve Bank's decision at 9am on interest rates.It is widely expected the official cash rate will be lifted by 25 basis points to 3 percent, after the Reserve Bank also increased the rate by 25 basis po
The New Zealand dollar eased overnight ahead of the Reserve Bank's decision at 9am on interest rates.
It is widely expected the official cash rate will be lifted by 25 basis points to 3 percent, after the Reserve Bank also increased the rate by 25 basis points seven weeks ago off a record low 2.5 percent where it had been for 13 months.
Around 7.30am today the NZ dollar was buying US72.79c, slightly down from US72.92c at 5pm yesterday.
The kiwi was also marginally lower at 0.5608 euro and was down to 63.63 yen from 63.97 at yesterday's local close.
Against the Australian dollar, the kiwi eased to A81.54c at the local open, while the trade weighted index dropped to 68.04 at 7.30am from 68.21 at 5pm.
Yesterday, the NZ dollar fell in afternoon trading after the National Bank of New Zealand Business Outlook survey showed confidence slid for a third consecutive month.
Earlier in the day the Australian dollar fell on softer than expected consumer price index data, dragging the NZ dollar with it.
Overnight, the US dollar rose against the euro but fell against the yen as a weaker-than-expected reading on new orders for US durable goods added to fears about the economic outlook of the world's largest economy.
Adding to risk aversion, the Federal Reserve said overall US economic activity is still increasing but not robustly, and in a few districts has lost steam over the past several weeks.
