6 Sep 2011

New Zealand dollar falls

7:12 pm on 6 September 2011

The New Zealand dollar has fallen as fears about recession and euro zone debt grip foreign markets yet again.

At 5.20pm on Tuesday the kiwi was buying US82.8 cents and had lost more than 1 cent against US currency since the previous day.

HiFX senior dealer Dan Bell says nervousness in foreign markets is spilling over into currency trading.

He says there is further risk aversion and uncertainty associated with the European debt crisis, and ongoing concerns that the US economy is falling into a recession.

Mr Bell says the global growth outlook continues to be downgraded by many analysts and economists and growth currencies like the New Zealand dollar are under pressure in that environment.

Meanwhile, the benchmark NZX50 has fallen, although not as severely as its overseas counterparts.

It shed 23 points (or 0.7%) on Tuesday to close at 3271.