The New Zealand dollar fell today after retail sales data for the March quarter was weaker than expected.
The value of seasonally adjusted total retail sales rose by 0.2 percent in the quarter.
Pundits were expecting a slightly higher rise and the New Zealand dollar dipped from US71.52c to US71.20c immediately in the wake of the figures being released this morning. It fell further to US71.11c in early afternoon trading.
The NZ dollar had already fallen from US71.70c at 5pm yesterday.
"It was the usual knee-jerk reaction - it is weaker, so sell it. Economically, it is not so justified, as the overall flavour of the release is within the bounds of what most economists expected," said Imre Speizer, currency strategist at Westpac.
"It is not what I would call a shock by any means," he said.
He said the market was in the mood to sell the New Zealand dollar, and sentiment was bearish worldwide.
The Australian dollar had been sold in the last week as traders holding long positions closed them out. Investors were turning their attention to the NZ dollar, which had not been pummeled yet because rate rises were expected and the economy was improving, he said.
The Australian dollar rose yesterday on news the Australian economy added 33,700 jobs in April.
The NZ dollar was worth A79.54c by early afternoon, from A79.67c at 5pm yesterday.
It was 0.5677 euro from 0.5664, and 65.94 yen from 66.82 and 48.70p against the British pound from 48.27p yesterday.
The trade weighted index fell to 68.05 from 68.30 yesterday.
