NZ Dollar Slides Amid Risk Aversion

The New Zealand dollar weakened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday on risk aversion, as the fall in crude oil prices dampened investor sentiment.

Crude of December delivery is currently down -0.21 percent or $50.42 per barrel.

Crude oil futures slipped on Thursday as traders booked profits following a mid-week run above $51 a barrel at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting scheduled on November 30.

Markets remain unconvinced that Russia and Saudi Arabia will make meaningful output cuts to alleviate the global supply glut.

The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged, as widely expected, but said its governing council didn't discuss tapering or extending its quantitative program.

ECB President Mario Draghi left the door open to more stimulus, but refrained from talking about the ongoing quantitative easing scheduled to end in March.

Thursday, the NZ dollar rose 0.23 percent against the U.S. dollar, 0.27 percent against the yen, 0.12 percent against the euro, and 0.71 percent against the Australian dollar.

In the Asian trading, the NZ dollar fell to a 3-day low of 0.7162 against the U.S. dollar and a 2-day low of 74.56 against the yen, from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.7191 and 74.75, respectively. If the kiwi extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 0.70 against the greenback, 73.00 against the yen,

Against the euro, the kiwi dropped to 1.5224 from yesterday's close of 1.5188. The kiwi is is likely to find support around the 1.54 region.

The kiwi edged down to 1.0652 against the Australian dollar, from an early near 2-week high of 1.0588. It is likely to find support around the 1.07 region.

Meanwhile, the safe-haven U.S. dollar rose against its major rivals amid risk aversion.

The U.S. dollar rose to a 7-month high of 1.0896 against the euro, nearly a 5-month high of 0.9955 against the Swiss franc and a 3-day high of 104.20 against the yen, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.0929, 0.9924 and 103.94, respectively. If the greenback extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.08 against the euro, 1.00 against the franc and 105.00 against the yen.

The greenback advanced to 1.2229 against the pound, from yesterday's closing value of 1.2251. It may test resistance around the 1.19 region.

Against the Australian and the Canadian dollars, the greenback climbed to a 4-day high of 0.7618 and an 8-day high of 1.3250 from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.7624 and 1.3228, respectively. On the upside, 0.74 against the aussie and 1.33 against the loonie are seen as the next resistance levels for the greenback.

Looking ahead, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will deliver brief remarks at annual meeting of Japan's trust associations, in Tokyo, at 2:35 am ET.

U.K. PSNB public sector finance sector data for September is due to be released at 4:30 am ET. At 5:00 am ET, German Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann will deliver welcoming remarks at the Promoting Growth, Employment, and Solidarity in Europe conference, in Frankfurt.

In the New York session, Canada CPI for September and retail sales data for August, Eurozone consumer sentiment index for October and U.S. rig count data are set to be published.

At 10:15 am ET, Federal Reserve Governor Daniel K. Tarullo is scheduled to talk about "Pedagogy and Scholarship in a Post-Crisis World" at the Columbia Law School Conference on the New Pedagogy of Financial Regulation in New York.

At 2:30 pm ET, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams is expected to speak before the Federal Home Loan Bank 2016 Member Conference, in San Francisco.