The New Zealand dollar lost ground against its major rivals on Tuesday morning in Asia as a slide in Asian stocks reduced demand for higher-yielding currencies.
Most Asian stocks opened weak today following a negative lead from Wall Street, where stocks declined sharply overnight amid doubts about the sustainability of economic recovery.
As of 10:30 pm ET, New Zealand’s NZX-50 was down 0.24%, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 2.48%, South Korea’s Kospi Composite declined 0.85%, Taiwan’s weighted average dropped 1.42%, Australia’s All ordinaries index slumped 0.47% and China’s Shanghai composite was down 0.33%.
In economic news, the number of permits for overall new housing construction in New Zealand increased in July by 3.1 percent, according to data released today by Statistics NZ.
With the volatile apartment category excluded, however, permits declined a seasonally adjusted 5.3 percent, compared to a 1.1 percent increase seen in June 2010.
The New Zealand dollar dropped to a 4-day low of 59.24 against the Japanese yen around 10:15 pm ET, compared to 59.85 hit late New York Monday. The kiwi-yen pair is presently worth 59.27 with 58.70 seen as the next likely support level.
The yen continued its recent rally as investors consider it as safe-haven in times of stock market slide. Japan’s better-than expected retail sales and industrial production figures for July also pushed the yen higher.
Japan’s Ministry of Finance reported today that its preliminary read on Industrial Production showed an increase of 0.3 percent in July, the first increase in three months. Economists had expected a 0.2 percent drop.
For the full year to July, Industrial Production was up 14.8 percent, up from 14.3% forecast by most economists.
At the same time, retail Sales in Japan increased in July by 0.7 percent compared to June, according to government data released today.
The Ministry of Finance also reported that for the full year to July 2010, retail sales increased 3.9 percent. Most economists forecast an on-month increase of 0.5 percent and an on-year increase of 3.5 percent.
The New Zealand dollar fell to a 5-day low of 0.7016 against the US dollar and a 4-day low of 1.8027 against the euro around 8:25 pm ET and both the pairs moved in a holding pattern thereafter.
The kiwi that closed Monday’s North American deals at 0.7072 against the greenback and 1.7917 versus the euro is presently quoted at 0.7034 and 1.7998, respectively.
Against the Australian dollar, the NZ currency plunged to a 13-day low of 1.2729 around 10:00 pm ET and a move below the 1.2740 support could set its weakest point in 4 months. The aussie-kiwi pair that closed yesterday’s deals at 1.2619 is presently quoted at 1.2718.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said retail sales increased 0.7% compared to June to A$20.4 billion, compared to a revised 0.4% increase in the previous month. Economists had forecast another 0.4% rise.
At the same time, Australia’s current account balance recorded a deficit of A$5.6 billion at the end of the June quarter, down from a A$16.5 billion deficit in the March quarter, official figures showed today.
Looking ahead, Japan’s housing starts for July and small business confidence for August are expected at 1:00 am ET.
Italian business confidence, CPI, German unemployment rate and euro-zone CPI-all for August, Italian retail sales for June and unemployment rate for July are expected to garner market attention in the upcoming European session.
Turning to the U.S., the S&P/Case-Shiller home price for June, Chicago PMI for August and the US consumer confidence for August are slated for release in the North American session.
At 2:00 pm ET, the US Federal Open Market committee will release its latest monetary policy meeting minutes.



There are numerous sorts of realty inspections provided by plumbing system contractors to select from depending on the sort of septic system being evaluated.
Hey there! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could locate a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having difficulty finding one? Thanks a lot!
What’s up friends, how is all, and what you wish for to say about this paragraph, in my view its actually amazing in support of me.
He has a quite deep voice as a result of her sickness so it imay be actually a man, at times the sens come through unstable as well as I cannot say to.
Wow! In the end I got a webpage from where I be able to genuinely get helpful information concerning my study and knowledge.
On top of that bamboo floors are stylish and installing one can develop into a focus of conversation at parties and even develop into a status symbol in some circles relying on how impressed your pals are that you simply made the environmental alternative.
I go to see every day some web pages and websites to read articles, however this website provides feature based writing.
When an old septic tank starts to have issues, it can spell huge problem for the house owner.
Since then I have I have not been and comfortable and have racing anxiety within the morning when waking out of sleep.
When a septic system is emptied, the collected sludge (septage, likewise known as fecal sludge) is drained of the storage tank by a vacuum truck How usually the sewage-disposal tank need to be cleared depends on the volume of the tank about the input of solids, the quantity of indigestible solids, as well as the ambient temperature (considering that anaerobic digestion takes place much more effectively at greater temperature levels), as well as usage, system characteristics and the needs of the appropriate authority.