NZ dollar gains ahead of US jobless rate
The New Zealand dollar is poised for a 0.6 per cent weekly gain against the greenback as the US employment figures are expected to show a stalemate.
3 August 2012
The kiwi gained in local trading ahead of US jobs figures which will likely show the unemployment rate is unchanged in the world's biggest economy.
Spain's government is preparing to make a public announcement on how it's faring.
The kiwi rose to 81.29 US cents at 5pm from 80.88 cents at 8am and 80.91 cents, as the trade-weighted index advanced to 73.44 from 73.
The New Zealand dollar is poised for a 0.6 per cent weekly gain against the greenback and a 1.4 per cent increase on a trade-weighted basis.
Although the US added 100,000 jobs last month its unemployment rate stayed at 8.2 per cent, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.
Traders are looking to see whether the figures are in line with expectations, or if the US labour market remains weak, increasing the chance of more asset purchases by the Federal Reserve.
"If it confirms another soft payrolls figure, that raises the risk the Fed has to do more," said Joe Carpuso, currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
Traders will look to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's press conference after a Cabinet meeting to provide an update on the Mediterranean nation's parlous finances.
The kiwi dollar got a small boost from Standard & Poor's reaffirming New Zealand's AA credit rating, saying the government's strong fiscal position is offsetting the nation's high level of external debt.
Investors were put on edge in Northern Hemisphere trading after the European Central Bank failed to deliver any immediate package to shore up the region's debt crisis.
That followed on from the Fed meeting a day earlier, which didn't offer any more clues on whether the central bank will print more money.
The New Zealand dollar climbed to 66.76 euro cents from 66.02 cents at 5pm yesterday, and gained to 52.39 British pence from 52.05 pence.
It increased to 77.59 Australian cents from 77.14 cents, and was little changed at 63.56 yen from 63.48 yen.
Busi
NZN
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