NZ dollar falls after data, central bank comments

Make Y!7 My Home Page

Reuters Finance News, New Zealand

FINANCE NEWS

Other Resources
- RSS Feeds
- Message Boards

Finance Videos

Marketplace

NZ dollar falls after data, central bank comments

Thursday November 5, 2009, 12:02 pm

WELLINGTON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - The New Zealand dollar NZD= fell on Thursday after weaker than expected jobs data and a warning from the head of the central bank about the country's slow and vulnerable emergence from recession.

* Kiwi slips to around $0.7206/12 from around $0.7270 early in the session.

* It dropped after New Zealand's jobless rate rose more than expected to a nine-year high in the September quarter, backing the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's (RBNZ) stance of holding rates at a record low 2.5 percent until the second half of 2010 [ID:nWEL468490].

* The currency came under further pressure after RBNZ Governor Alan Bollard said New Zealand's economic recovery was slower and more vulnerable than Australia's and financial markets don't seemto appreciate this [ID:nWLF004435].

* However, markets still pricing in a full rate hike in March because of pressures seen building up in the economy.

* Kiwi slips to a three-month low against the Aussie NZDAUD=R after the Bollard comments.

* Kiwi seen trading in wide ranges, with support near term seen at $0.7150 and resistance at $0.7360.

* NZ bonds softer in line with long-dated U.S. Treasury debt prices after the U.S. Federal Reserve stuck to its commitment to keep borrowing costs near zero for "an extended period" [ID:nN04453484].