NZ dollar surges above 78USc in afternoon trading
The New Zealand dollar surged higher above 78USc in afternoon trading after earlier being subject to profit-taking.
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The New Zealand dollar surged higher above 78USc in afternoon trading after earlier being subject to profit-taking.
The NZ dollar was at 78.22USc at 5pm, from 77.84USc at 8am and 77.61USc at 5pm yesterday. It rose to 78.33USc in late afternoon trading.
"I think it has been a thin and illiquid market this afternoon and the price action has been favouring the high yielding currencies," said Daniel Bell, senior dealer at HiFX.
The NZ dollar had eased to 77.59USc earlier in the session.
"There have been no announcements today so this has all just been position taking in a thin market, and both the kiwi and aussie are benefiting from a weaker US dollar," Mr Bell said.
A standoff in the US budget was a focus. That should cause risk aversion, but traders were ignoring it at the moment.
The NZ dollar was little changed at 74.29Ac at 5pm from 74.44Ac at 8am and 74.20Ac at 5pm yesterday.
The yen fell to an 11-month low against the euro and was near a six-month low against the US dollar as investors continued to expect easy monetary conditions to help the Japanese economy recover.
The NZ dollar was little changed at €0.5436 at 5pm from €0.5441 at 8am and €0.5425 at 5pm yesterday. The European Central Bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points overnight for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis.
ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet signalled the bank was ready to tighten policy further if needed but added that it had not decided if the move was the first in a series.
The trade weighted index lifted to 68.13 from 67.83 yesterday.
NZPA
Fri, 08 Apr 2011
Fri, 08 Apr 2011
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NZ dollar surges above 78USc in afternoon trading
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