Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar weakened against the dollar on Thursday as signs that central bank rules to curb surging house prices are having an impact, while elsewhere in Asia trading is thin as the U.S. markets shut for the Thaksgiving holiday.
NZD/USD traded at 0.8146, down 0.04%, after data from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand showed loans above 80% of the value of property were just 12.8% of new commitments in October, down from 25.5% in September and 26.5% in August.
The high loan-to-value ratio (LVR) rules are aimed at cooling surging house prices that can ramp up inflation pressures in an economy still rebuilding from an earthquake that hit the city of Christchurch in 2011 and a shortage of affordable housing in cities like Auckland.
Under the rules, banks can lend no more than 10% of their total new mortgage lending with a LVR above 80%.
"The reduction in high-LVR lending will help to reduce the risks of a sharp correction in house prices in an already overvalued housing market," said RBNZ deputy governor, Grant Spencer, adding that he expects a bigger impact once banks clear pre-approvals made prior to the new rules coming into effect.
The RBNZ said it will provide data on the loan limits monthly.
USD/JPY traded at 102.23, up 0.07%, ahead of a fairly light data release day with preliminary October retail sales on the cards with a forecast for a gain of 2.1%.
Overnight, the dollar gained against most major currencies after a widely-watched consumer sentiment index beat expectations and boosted demand for the greenbackr after the University of Michigan said its index of overall consumer sentiment was revised up to 75.1 in November from a preliminary estimate of 72.0.
Economists had expected the index to be revised up to 73.5.
The report was released two days in advance due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
Also on Wednesday, the Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week declined by 10,000 to a two-month low of 316,000. Economists had forecast an increase of 4,000.
The jobs data was released one day early due to the U.S. holiday.
The upbeat data offset a report showing that U.S. durable goods orders fell 2% in October, worse than expectations for a 1.9% decline, while core durable goods orders were down 0.1%, compared to expectations for a 0.5% increase.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, traded at 80.72, down 0.01%.
NZD/USD traded at 0.8146, down 0.04%, after data from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand showed loans above 80% of the value of property were just 12.8% of new commitments in October, down from 25.5% in September and 26.5% in August.
The high loan-to-value ratio (LVR) rules are aimed at cooling surging house prices that can ramp up inflation pressures in an economy still rebuilding from an earthquake that hit the city of Christchurch in 2011 and a shortage of affordable housing in cities like Auckland.
Under the rules, banks can lend no more than 10% of their total new mortgage lending with a LVR above 80%.
"The reduction in high-LVR lending will help to reduce the risks of a sharp correction in house prices in an already overvalued housing market," said RBNZ deputy governor, Grant Spencer, adding that he expects a bigger impact once banks clear pre-approvals made prior to the new rules coming into effect.
The RBNZ said it will provide data on the loan limits monthly.
USD/JPY traded at 102.23, up 0.07%, ahead of a fairly light data release day with preliminary October retail sales on the cards with a forecast for a gain of 2.1%.
Overnight, the dollar gained against most major currencies after a widely-watched consumer sentiment index beat expectations and boosted demand for the greenbackr after the University of Michigan said its index of overall consumer sentiment was revised up to 75.1 in November from a preliminary estimate of 72.0.
Economists had expected the index to be revised up to 73.5.
The report was released two days in advance due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
Also on Wednesday, the Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week declined by 10,000 to a two-month low of 316,000. Economists had forecast an increase of 4,000.
The jobs data was released one day early due to the U.S. holiday.
The upbeat data offset a report showing that U.S. durable goods orders fell 2% in October, worse than expectations for a 1.9% decline, while core durable goods orders were down 0.1%, compared to expectations for a 0.5% increase.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, traded at 80.72, down 0.01%.