The New Zealand dollar opened slightly below where it finished yesterday as investors continued to fret about health of European economies and waited for Australian gross domestic product data today.The NZ dollar was at US74.57c at 8am from US74.83c at 5p
The New Zealand dollar opened slightly below where it finished yesterday as investors continued to fret about health of European economies and waited for Australian gross domestic product data today.
The NZ dollar was at US74.57c at 8am from US74.83c at 5pm yesterday. Westpac sees key support ay US74.00c and said that level held overnight.
"Risk aversion continued to dictate movements in most asset markets overnight. A steady stream of negative news out of Europe saw equity markets record modest declines, commodity prices fall and credit spreads push higher," BNZ currency strategist Mike Jones said.
There were rumours that France may suffer a ratings outlook downgrade, and fears about the fiscal health of Portugal.
Against a backdrop of soft equity markets and worsening risk appetite, investors continue to favour the relative safe-haven of currencies like the US dollar and Japanese yen.
The euro hit a 10-week low against the dollar and stocks fell. The euro briefly fell below $1.30 for the first time since mid-September after investors sold off government bonds from Spain, Portugal and Italy.
The NZ dollar rose to 0.5730 euro at 8am from 0.5653 euro at 5pm yesterday.
The euro found some support after manufacturing in the US Midwest grew faster-than-expected in November and US consumer confidence gained.
The Conference Board's index of consumer confidence jumped to a five-month high of 54.1 in November from 49.9 in October. That's better than analysts expected but still well below the level of 90 that indicates a healthy economy. The index hasn't been that high since the recession began in December 2007.
The NZ dollar eased a touch against the Australian dollar to A77.51c from A77.62c yesterday as the focus turned to the latest report card on the strong Australian economy.
"The Australian third quarter GDP is the main event today, with a range of 0.1 percent to 0.5 percent estimated," Westpac said.
"The Australian dollar continues to work its way to the next major support level of US94.00c, with bounces capped by US97.00c," Westpac said,
The Australian dollar was at US96.18c at 8am from US96.36c at 5pm yesterday.
The trade weighted index was at 68.16 from 68.10 yesterday.
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