NZ dollar drops below 70 US cents as Fed speakers talk up rate hike prospects

NZ dollar drops below 70 US cents as Fed speakers talk up rate hike prospects
Paul McBeth
The New Zealand dollar fell below 70 US cents, touching a six-month low in US trading on Friday, as two Federal Reserve speakers talked up the prospect of further interest rate hikes in the US, trumping expectations the Reserve Bank will begin raising rates next year. The kiwi traded at 69.66 US cents as at 8:30am in Wellington, having dropped to 69.27 cents in New York on Friday, from 70.27 cents in Asia at the end of last week. The trade-weighted index fell to 77.60, having dropped to 77.42 in New York, from 78.05 at 5pm in Wellington on F...