The Opening Bell: Where currencies start on Thursday, September 15, 2011

By Dan Bell

• BNZ says rates need   to rise if global economic impact is mild on the NZ economy
•  Rates on hold for now given global risks
•  RBNZ says high NZ dollar a drag on economy
• Domestic economic activity has surprised on the upside and capacity usage appears to have increased
• However, the outlook for New Zealand's trading partners has deteriorated markedly
• Sovereign debt concerns in Europe and the weakened global outlook have caused international bank funding markets to tighten
• Much of the current spike in inflation has been driven by last year's increase in the rate of GST, and will therefore be temporary

The NZD is slightly lower in response.
 
NZDUSD               0.8180 / 0.8200
NZDAUD              0.7960 / 0.7990
NZDEUR               0.5945 / 0.5975
NZDGBP               0.5180 / 0.5200
NZDJPY                 62.65 / 62.95
 
Please call for further information or pricing.

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Dan Bell is the senior currency strategist at HiFX in Auckland. You can contact him here