New Zealand Dollar Rally After U.S. Rescue of AIG

The New Zealand dollarr rallied against the U.S. and Japanese currencies after the U.S. government agreed to take over American International Group Inc. to save it from collapse.
TradingEconomics.com, Bloomberg.com
9/17/2008 5:51:09 AM

The South Pacific currency, favorites of so-called carry trades, rose as the government agreed to lend as much as $85 billion to the country's biggest insurer and Barclays Plc, the U.K.'s third-biggest bank, agreed to acquire the North American investment-banking unit of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

The New Zealand dollar gained 1.9 percent to 66.43 U.S. cents from 65.21 cents late in Asia yesterday. It bought 70.29 yen from 67.91.

The New Zealand dollar yesterday dropped to the weakest in more than four years against the yen and Australia's slid to a 2 1/2-year low as a global stocks rout curbed demand for the nations' higher-yielding assets.

The Bank of Japan kept its overnight lending rate at 0.5 percent today and the Federal Reserve left its benchmark rate at 2 percent yesterday. Interest rates are 7 percent in Australia and 7.5 percent in New Zealand, making them favorites with investors seeking higher returns.


New Zealand Dollar Rally After U.S. Rescue of AIG