NZ dollar up on most currencies as Japan announces stimulus

NZ dollar up on most currencies as Japan announces stimulus

Jan. 22 (BusinessDesk) - The New Zealand dollar rose during the local trading day as market-watchers across Asia waited for a crucial Japanese monetary policy decision.

That decision came just after 5pm and saw the Bank of Japan announce a doubling in the country's inflation target to 2 percent and adoption of a US Federal Reserve-style quantitative easing programme of bond-buying.

Bloomberg reported the moves as the most significant commitment yet to end two decades of deflation in the huge but moribund Japanese economy.

The announcement saw the kiwi dollar fall immediately after the announcement, from 75.55 yen at 5pm to 75.17 yen at 5.20pm, close to the 75.06 yen level recorded at 8am this morning and still up on 74.95 yen on Monday.

By 5pm, the kiwi was at 83.99 US cents, up from 83.63 US cents at 8am, and compared to 83.60 cents at 5pm on Monday.

The yen has been so weak that some traders predicted it could rise on profit-taking after the BoJ's position was known, even if it was negative for the yen.

The European situation looked more settled after Germany's central bank said the nation's economy was showing signs of recovery in the first quarter of the year.

Profit results from US companies will flow when the US market returns from a holiday weekend tonight.

Locally, the Cabinet reshuffle today did not alter finance portfolios so there was not much in it for markets.

The kiwi was at 79.79 Australian cents from 79.50 Australian cents at 5pm on Monday. Australian inflation data on Wednesday will be the catalyst for movements on this cross-rate.

"We continue to draw attention to Australia's plight, in particular the reasons as to why National Australia Bank recently increased the degree of cash rate cutting it expects from the Reserve Bank of Australia," Craig Ebert at BNZ said.

"While this is, at heart, real-economy based, it will be reinforced by any weakness in Australia's Q4 CPI report."

The kiwi was 62.93 euro cents from 62.77 euro cents, and 52.99 British pence from 52.69 pence.

The trade-weighted index was little changed at 75.34 from 75.14 on Monday.

(BusinessDesk)

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