4 Jul 2014

Dollar falls against US on job figures

6:31 pm on 4 July 2014

The New Zealand dollar was slightly weaker against the US dollar after figures showing the United States economy added more than expected numbers of jobs in June.

Bank of New Zealand foreign exchange strategist Raiko Shareef said it was surprising the Kiwi did not fall further.

"The Kiwi dollar is slightly lower. Normally you'd expect it to be significantly lower, given the strength that we saw in those US employment numbers," Mr Shareef said.

"The New Zealand dollar has a very strong interest rate advantage against the United States that really means that it's essentially the top pick for an investor who is looking to take advantage of those returns."

Just after 5pm, the New Zealand dollar was buying: 87.49 US cents, 93.43 Australian cents, 50.95 pence, 0.6428 euro, 89.26 yen and 5.43 renminbi.

Shares rally

New Zealand shares staged a late rally, the NZX Top 50 Index gaining 22 points to 5189.

Harbour Asset Management director Craig Stent said investors continued to be distracted by the large numbers of company floats.

"It was a bit mixed on the New Zealand market but we're seeing some positive movement in some of the more cyclical stock such as Mainfreight and Fletcher Building," he said.

Shares in Mainfreight rose 45 cents to $14.85 and Fletcher Building shares gained 12 cents to $8.97.

Auckland International Airport shares eased 1 cent to $3.88, while Telecom fell half a cent to $2.69.5.

The price of the Scales shares has been set at $1.60, at the bottom of the $1.60-$1.85 indicative range, although the company said demand significantly exceeded the 93 million shares being sold.

Metro Glass has not officially announced its final price yet but it is reported to be $1.70, near the bottom of its $1.65-$1.90 indicative range.