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Kiwi slips down

It fell to 72.08USc.

Jonathan Underhill
Fri, 25 Aug 2017

The New Zealand dollar fell back toward 72USc in the absence of much market-moving news and as traders await speeches from the European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi and Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen.

The kiwi slipped to 72.08USc as at 8am in Wellington, and earlier touched 71.92USc, from 72.23USc late yesterday. The trade-weighted index fell to 75.85 from 76.04 yesterday.

Financial markets are looking to the central bankers' symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to provide some direction. Mrs Yellen's speech may bring more hints about when the Fed will begin to reduce its balance sheet and Draghi may comment on the strength of the euro, which has reached a 2 1/2-year high against the greenback. In New Zealand, sentiment was dented this week by weaker forecasts for economic growth and budget surpluses and with a close race looming in the election just four weeks away.

"There is a combination of factors for NZ dollar weakness," traders at HiFX said in a note. "Weaker economic forecasts combined with the pre-election fiscal update on Wednesday this week, some position unwinding, and election uncertainty."

The local currency fell to 91.21Ac from 91.41Ac yesterday. It dropped to 61.04 euro cents from 61.19 cents and fell to 56.29 British pence from 56.48 pence. The kiwi dropped to 4.8005 yuan from 4.8124 yuan and declined to 78.93 yen from 78.82 yen.

(BusinessDesk)

Jonathan Underhill
Fri, 25 Aug 2017
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Kiwi slips down
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