Exporters keep the kiwi over 50c

Press, 11 January 1986, Page 20

Exporters keep the kiwi over 50c

PA Wellington A resurgence of exporter buying kept the New Zealand dollar buoyant on the foreign exchange market in Wellington yesterday. The kiwi dollar traded in a 75point range before closing near its opening price at JUSO.SOBO/00. One dealer said producerboard buying had supported the unit throughout the day. The trade-weighted Reserve Bank exchange rate index was at 63.1 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., down from 63.5 in the morning. Dealers said that much of the action centered on sterling, as the Reserve Bank was rumoured to have heavily sold this currency in early trading. The British unit closed at fU51.4575/90

from $U51.4433/43 in the morning. The value of the New Zealand dollar yesterday morning, compared with its value immediately before it was floated in March, (BNZ’sell rates): Pre-float Yesterday March 1 Jan 10 JUS 44c 50.4 c

In America on Thursday (early yesterday, N.Z. time), the U.S. dollar dropped sharply in hectic foreign-exchange trading as

rumours swept the markets that Arab nations would pull their money out of dollar investments in retaliation for U.S. sanctions against Libya. The dollar fell more than three pfennigs against the West German mark within minutes in late morning trading in New York, slumping to 2.4350 marks from about 2.47.

The dollar later rallied a nto 2.4470 marks, but unged to 2.4250 marks on a renewal of the rumours.

“The market is extremely vulnerable,” said a chief dealer at a major U.S. bank. “But it just doesn’t make sense that the Saudis or Kuwaitis would liquidate.” Mr Joseph Volpicella, Foreign Exchange Manager at Union Bank of Switzerland here, said the complexity of Arab investments in the U.S. made widespread liquidation improbable out liquid assets such as bank deposits could be switched easily.

Sterling 41.15p 34.42p Canada 61.2c 70.5c France 4.49fr 3.75fr Hong Kong $3.43 Japan 13.93 114yen lOlyen Netherlands 1.38g 1.66g Singapore 99c $1.06 Switzerland 1.04fr 1.26fr Germany 1.47dm 1.23dm Australia 62.4c 72.7c