$NZ over and under 54c

Press, 23 July 1986, Page 35

$NZ over and under 54c

PA Wellington The New Zealand and Australian dollars fell on the back of a stronger United States dollar in moderate trading on the Wellington foreign-ex-change market yesterday. Despite minor falls, both currencies remained roughly unchanged against the yen and most of the major European currencies. The kiwi dollar traded at 5U50.5397/07, compared with its 5U50.5405/ 20 opening. Reasonable two-way business saw the unit trade to the day’s high of 5U50.5430. The trade-weighted Reserve Bank exchange rate index was fixed at 65.7 at 3 p.m., compared with 65.9 in the morning. On the cross-rates the New Zealand dollar was worth Australian 84.4 cents, 1.-14 Deutschmarks, 36.18 p and 83.98 yen. The U.S. dollar traded at 2.1280/90 marks and 155.45/55 yen against 2.1205/20 and 154.90/00 in the morning. The Australian dollar finished easier in Sydney yesterday after breaching chart levels as corporate buying dried up in late trading. The currency which had held to 64 U.S. cents

for most of the day, fell to 5U50.6377/84 at the close from its opening 5U50.6423/30. It closed on Monday at 5U50.6415/22. In New York on Monday (early yesterday, N.Z. time), the American dollar ended mostly lower in dull trading, with participants expecting the imminent second-quarter Gross National Product announcement to confirm that the economy was expanding at a sluggish pace. “It’s just more anticipation of a poor economic performance,” a dealer said, referring to the dollar’s slippage. The dollar closed at 2.1220/ 30 marks, down about one pfennig from Friday’s finish of 2.1315/25. In the afternoon, the dollar struck a fiveyear low of 2.1195 marks. In the first-quarter, US Real GNP grew at an annual rate of 2.9 per cent. Analysts noted the U.S. currency’s bearish tone has been cemented recently by lacklustre economic data for June, signs of weakness in the American banking system — highlighted by the Bank of America’s SUS64OM secondquarter loss — and reduced growth expectations for the remainder of 1986. Late on Friday, the Federal Reserve Board said it had lowered its forecast for 1986 GNP to 2.5 — 3 per cent from 3 — 3.5 per cent. Sterling ended at $U51.4950/60 down more than 1c from 5U51.5095/05 on Friday. The pound fell to an historic low of 3.17 marks, compared with about 3.20 at the end of last week.