Home > Community > Financial Markets > NZ dollar steady, caution on risk, debt firmer

NZ dollar steady, caution on risk, debt firmer

Published: 28 Sep 2009 17:14:05 PST

WELLINGTON, Sept 29 - The New Zealand dollar <NZD=> started steady in thin trading on Tuesday, with stronger equities keeping support for higher yielding currencies amid cautious sentiment after their recent sharp gains.

* Kiwi resumes around $0.7160, after a choppy offshore session between $0.7112 and $0.7230, as higher Wall Street backs appetite for risk trades.

* Sentiment on kiwi still cautious, after it rose to near 14-month highs of $0.7315 last week following a string of good news, with the economy showing first tiny growth after a long recession and the current account deficit narrowing sharply. Kiwi is now up more than 40 percent since early March.

* Kiwi also weighed by weakness against the yen <NZDJPY=R>, slipping to more than 2 week lows, on expectations that Japan unlikely to intervene to weaken its rising currency, which has lifted the yen to an eight-month high against the U.S. dollar.

* Kiwi lower against the Aussie <NZDAUD=R> following comments from the Reserve Bank of Australia governor that interest rates would need to be raised in a timely fashion. [ID:nSYD395526]

* NZ dollar seen supported around $0.7110, and facing resistance at $0.7200 in the near term.

* NZ data flows thin, with building consents due on Tuesday and National Bank of NZ business survey on Wednesday.

* NZ debt firmer, with yields up to 8 basis points lower after U.S. Treasury rallied on reassurances that the Federal Reserve will preempt inflation before it takes off. -------------(29 September 2009 09:34 / 2034 GMT)-------------

(Last prices as at 6pm NZ time the previous day) 90-DAY LIVE 2.80 (2.77) NOV-2011 4.095 (3.955) 90-DAY (DEC) untraded (97.13) APR-2013 4.905 (4.820) 90-DAY (MAR) 96.76 (96.8) DEC-2017 5.605 (5.655) 90-DAY (JUN) 96.15 (96.22) MAY-2021 5.940 (6.045) RBNZ MCI 250 (189) US 10YR BOND 3.278 (3.484) NZD TWI 65.27 (64.52) AU 10YR BOND 5.233 (5.435) NZD/USD 0.7163(0.7133) NZ/US 10YR SPD +233bp(+217bp) NZD/AUD 0.8213(0.8160) NZ/AU 10YR SPD +37bp (+22bp) NZD/EUR 0.4899(0.4808) NZ 2YR SWAP 4.270 (4.040) NZD/JPY 64.22 (64.84) NZ 5YR SWAP 5.480 (5.338) --------------------------------------------------------------- - ( --------------------------------------------------------------- - ((Wellington newsroom tel 64 4 471 4234, fax +64 4 4736 212, wellington.newsroom@reuters.com