A man (R) cleans electronic boards showing the Japan’s Nikkei average, the exchange rate between Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar and stock quotation outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, April 6, 2016.
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RBNZ’s move surprised some investors who had expected a rate cut, propelling the New Zealand dollar to its strongest versus its USA counterpart in nearly a year at $0.7148 NZD=D4. The central bank may also be looking to cushion the economy as the government drives a major overhaul of the struggling shipping and shipbuilding industries that could see large job losses.
Meanwhile, the chances of a Federal Reserve rate rise in the summer were crushed on Friday by data showing the U.S. economy added a quarter of the jobs expected in May. The US currency climbed 0.7 per cent against the euro to US$1.1311 and lost 0.5 per cent to ¥106.49.
Seoul stocks eased 0.2 percent and Wellington was down 0.3 per cent. Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei were closed for public holidays.
The dollar rebounded against other currencies, except for the yen, following the prior day’s losses tied to reduced bets on a pending US interest rate increase following last week’s disappointing jobs report.
The U.S. dollar weakened against the yen and the euro in Asian trade Thursday as investors continued to unload the greenback on reduced expectations for a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase in coming months. They said the Fed would refrain from a rate increase given the possible market turmoil if Britain votes on June 23 to leave the European Union, also known as Brexit.
The currency was up 1.5 percent at $0.7126 after climbing as far as $0.7139, from around $0.7020 before the policy decision, reaching a high not seen since June 2015 after the RBNZ held rates steady but retained an easing bias.
The Bank of Korea (BOK) surprised markets by cutting its policy rate by 25 basis points to a record-low of 1.25%.
The kiwi surged as not all in the market had expected the central bank to stand pat.
The single currency had gained in U.S. trading as the European Central Bank stepped into uncharted territory Wednesday when it began to buy bonds issued by companies, in a bid to kickstart eurozone inflation.
The currency strengthened from a one-month low after the employment data offset some concern that the USA labour market is slowing.
The yen, which investors prefer in times of market uncertainty, reached a three-year peak against the euro and a five-week high versus the USA dollar.
Oil prices rose as relentless sabotage of oil supplies in Nigeria.
Spot gold rose more than one percent to a near three-week high and was last up 1.35 percent to $1,260.21 an ounce.
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The weaker dollar helped boost copper and gold prices, while aluminium climbed to the highest levels in almost a month.
