4:30 PM (NZT) This week has seen this pair reacting almost purely to the wider market appetite for risk. In the absence of local economic data in NZ, the lead has entirely come from offshore. For most of the week risk aversion has seen the NZD under some grinding pressure from the US dollar. The threat of further credit downgrades in Europe, bank funding fears, lowering commodity prices and lower expectations from company results, have all weighed on the risk appetite. The bounce back in sentiment overnight was surprising in that we saw some better than expected economic data in the UK, Europe and the US. However the data will remain patchy, and the illiquid nature of all markets heading into Christmas means we are likely to see rapid moves in the coming weeks. NZ GDP next Thursday remains the key for locally driven NZ dollar sentiment in the short term.
 
The current interbank midrate is:                                                            NZDUSD .7536   
                                                                                         
The interbank range so far this week to date has been:                 NZDUSD .7458 - .7752