(RTTNews) - In early European session on Thursday, the New Zealand dollar soared against other major currencies ahead of bond auctions by Spain and Italy later in the day. The NZ dollar strengthened to a 9-day high against the greenback and a 7-week high against the yen.
New Zealand closed higher today, after a strong rally on global equity markets in the wake of Portugal's successful bond auction stoked investor appetites for higher yielding assets.
The NZX 50 Index rose 39.12 points, or 1.2%, to close at 3373.7.
New Zealand residential property values continued its gradual decline, Quotable Value said earlier in the day. House prices dropped by 0.9% in December from the same period of last year, following a 0.3% rise in November. Values stayed 5.8% below the market peak of late 2007.
The New Zealand dollar jumped to a 9-day high of 0.7684 against the US currency in early European deals on Thursday. The next upside target level for the kiwi is seen at 0.782. At yesterday's close, the kiwi-greenback pair was quoted at 0.7637.
During early European deals on Thursday, the New Zealand dollar strengthened to a 7-week high of 63.79 against the Japanese yen. This may be compared to yesterday's close of 63.40. On the upside, 64.5 is seen as the next target level for the kiwi.
The New Zealand dollar rose to 1.2983 against the Aussie in early European session on Thursday. If the kiwi advances further, it may likely target the 1.295 level. The aussie-kiwi pair was worth 1.3050 at yesterday's close.
Australia's unemployment rate dipped by 0.2 percent in December, hitting a near two-year low. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the nation's jobless rate fell to 5.0 percent from the November rate of 5.2 percent. The decrease, however, was largely the result of fewer people looking for work.
The Bureau reported that the Australian economy added 2,300 jobs in December.
In early European session on Thursday, the New Zealand dollar climbed to 1.7130 against the euro. The next upside target level for the NZ currency is seen at 1.710. The euro-kiwi pair closed yesterday's trading at 1.7194.
German wholesale price index and French CPI, which were released in early European session likely influenced the euro.
The Bank of England and the European Central Bank are scheduled to announce their interest rate decisions at 7 am and 7:45 am ET, respectively. Both banks are widely expected to maintain rates unchanged at their current levels.
Across the Atlantic, the U.S. PPI for December, trade balance for November and weekly jobless claims data for the week ended January 08 are slated for release in the New York session.
