5 Nov 2010

NZ dollar at highest against US for two years

6:26 am on 5 November 2010

The New Zealand dollar has jumped 1 cent against the American currency, as employment grew and the US dollar continued to depreciate.

The New Zealand dollar jumped from 77.6 US cents to 78.8 US cents by midday on Thursday - its highest level since early June 2008.

The currency's rise started after the US Federal Reserve announced plans to pump more money into the American economy to try to boost the recovery.

The central bank hopes the plan to buy $US600 billion worth of Treasury bonds over the next eight months will boost inflation and lower unemployment. The move weakened the US dollar.

Statistics New Zealand figures released on Thursday showed 150,000 people, or 6.4% of the country's workforce, were out of work at the end of September - 10,000 fewer than the end of the June quarter.

Senior markets economist at ANZ New Zealand, Khoon Goh says the appreciating currency will not help local exporters, but the extra money from the Fed move will help commodity prices.