The Kiwi dollar began the week trading 1, 412 to the US Dollar, and ended the week at 1,432. The Kiwi traded between 2, 179 and 2, 205 to the British Pound in the weekof 16^th to the 20^th of August.

The Kiwi drifted on Friday after falling against the US Dollar on Thursday night as fear reared its ugly head around the performance of the world markets. The Kiwi dropped against the US Dollar by the end of last week, but recovered by early on Saturday, even as the US Dollar rose against major currencies amid heightened worries about the global economy and declines in stock prices. Some are speculating that the latest data from the US raised new worries about the world’s largest economy being stuck.

The NZD drifted in relatively narrow ranges against a backdrop of weak equity markets and worries about the global economy. ANZ bank said European and US equities had initially ground higher as mergers and acquisition commotion boosted investor confidence, with the Kiwi piggy backing on the news.  

The Kiwi strengthened against the Aussie last week, following the inconclusive election result. The Australian Dollar slid after political uncertainty after neither ofthe major parties won a majority in the election on Saturday.  It did however recover slightly as markets speculated that a minority conservative government will be formed. In the short term the Aussie may struggle to get any upward movement but in reality bothparties in Australia seem to have similar agendas according to popular belief; so the influences would be external not internal.  

Composed by Taahirah Williams

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Theweek of 09^th August to 13^th August saw the New Zealand dollar strongly influenced by local USnews. The US Dollar weakness is currently the driving force behind mostcurrency markets. The Kiwi begun the week consolidating against the US Dollarafter the release of data showing America’s jobless rate for July tobe twice as high as expected. The data indicates a USeconomy that can only be described as sluggish and there is fear in the marketthat this slowing growth has spread beyond the shores of America fuelling speculation thatthe global economic recovery is on the decline. By midweek investors were againshunning higher yielding but riskier currencies such as the Kiwi resulting in alow against the US Dollar not seen since the week before.

ByFriday the New Zealand Dollar was up slightly after the release of higher thanexpected local retail sales data. Retail sales for June had been estimated at0.3 per cent but sales surged to a massive 1.3 per cent. The largest increasewas in vehicle sales while café and restaurants recorded the largest fall inseasonally adjusted sales volumes. ASB Bank economistChristian Leung said the retail lift for the June month suggested "somewillingness on the part of households to spend again [and] with signs thathouseholds are becoming more willing to spend the recovery in the NZ economylooks to be becoming more broad-based."

Thedata keeps open the possibility of another rate rise by the New Zealand CentralBank in September.

The New Zealand Dollar traded between 2.1803 and 2.2009 to the BritishPound in the week of 09^th August to 13^th August 2010. Ittraded between 1.365 and 1.413 to the US Dollar in the same period.

Composed by Candice Henderson

:: Note: The above exchange rates are based on"interbank" rates.
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The Household Labour Force Survey saw a sharp rise in the unemployment rate to 6.8 per cent by the end of the week. . An increase to 6.8 per cent from 6 was higher than economists had previously predicted, damping hopes of a speedy recovery after the worst recession in 18 years. The Labour Party, the Greens and trade unions blamed the Government for the sharp increase in unemployment which rose almost 19, 000 during the June quarter to reach a whopping 159,000. Labour leader Phil Goff said the figures were a tragedy for those who had lost their jobs and that the Government didn't have a plan to deal with the epic situation. Further inaction by the government would mean drawn out uncertainty over the jobs market.

Even though unemployment had risen there were also encouraging signs in the data according to some, including participation rates in the workforce being up.

The Labour Party said young people, ethnic communities and Asian people were also disadvantaged by the rise, and Maori were often the first to lose their jobs when the employment market went down. The number of 20-24-year-olds unemployed increased 2.6 per cent to 13.7 per cent since earlier this year and unemployment in the 15-19-year-old age group fell slightly.

The kiwi sank against the US dollar after the data released saw investors wait on American employment data that was expected to show the world’s biggest economy shedding more jobs than last month. America’s jobless rate was predicted to have risen to 9.6% this month, and the softer growth outlook for the U.S. has investors betting the Federal Reserve will extend its quantitative easing programme when it meets this week. The Kiwi ended the week at 1, 3741 to the US Dollar.

 
Composed by Taahirah Williams

:: Note: The above exchange rates are based on "interbank" rates.
If you want to transfer money to New Zealand then please register/login or call us for a live dealing rate.

Make use of a Rate Notifier to send you alert when the New Zealand exchange rate reaches levels you are looking for.