Kiwi Dollar Advances as Greenback Weakens

2026-09-04 00:56 By Judith Sib-at 1 min. read

The New Zealand dollar rose to around $0.589 on Friday, extending gains from the previous session as the US dollar came under pressure following comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller.

Waller said he would support leaving interest rates unchanged if inflation pressures continued to ease, prompting investors to trim bets on a Fed rate hike later this month.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised interest rates for a second consecutive meeting earlier this week but signalled a less aggressive path for further tightening.

RBNZ Assistant Governor Karen Silk said today the central bank is more likely to delay its next rate hike until December, while reiterating that the RBNZ is not on a predetermined path.

Markets are pricing in just a 31% chance of a hike in October, while a December increase is largely factored in.

Despite its recent gains, the kiwi is down 0.5% this week, on track for a second straight weekly loss.



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Kiwi Dollar Advances as Greenback Weakens
The New Zealand dollar rose to around $0.589 on Friday, extending gains from the previous session as the US dollar came under pressure following comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller. Waller said he would support leaving interest rates unchanged if inflation pressures continued to ease, prompting investors to trim bets on a Fed rate hike later this month. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised interest rates for a second consecutive meeting earlier this week but signalled a less aggressive path for further tightening. RBNZ Assistant Governor Karen Silk said today the central bank is more likely to delay its next rate hike until December, while reiterating that the RBNZ is not on a predetermined path. Markets are pricing in just a 31% chance of a hike in October, while a December increase is largely factored in. Despite its recent gains, the kiwi is down 0.5% this week, on track for a second straight weekly loss.
2026-09-04
Kiwi Dollar Holds Losses Amid RBNZ Cautious Tightening Path
The New Zealand dollar traded around $0.585 on Thursday after falling 0.7% in the previous session to as low as $0.580, its weakest level since July 30, amid a cautious Reserve Bank of New Zealand tightening outlook. The central bank raised its official cash rate by 25 basis points to 2.75% on Wednesday, marking a second consecutive hike and bringing the rate to its highest level in a year. The move was widely expected as policymakers continued to address above-target inflation. Although the RBNZ indicated the cash rate may need to increase further, its forward guidance was interpreted as more cautious than markets had anticipated. Governor Anna Breman also stressed that there is no predetermined path for monetary policy and that the timing of any further rate hike remains highly uncertain. That prompted markets to price in a hold at the RBNZ’s next meeting next month.
2026-09-03
New Zealand Dollar Drops After RBNZ Rate Decision
The New Zealand dollar fell to around $0.581 on Wednesday, its lowest level in nearly five weeks, as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand delivered a second consecutive rate hike but signaled a more measured pace of further tightening. The RBNZ raised the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 2.75%, as widely expected, stepping up efforts to curb inflationary pressures and reaffirming its commitment to returning inflation to its 1%-3% target range. Its latest projections point to the policy rate reaching 2.81% by December and 3.15% by the end of 2027, lower than market expectations for a peak of around 3.5%. Governor Anna Breman said the OCR trajectory is broadly consistent with the May forecast, while indicating that further rate increases are likely but the timing remains highly uncertain. Swaps data showed that the probability of an October rate hike fell to around 36%, down from 65% before the meeting.
2026-09-02