NZ dollar gains; US payrolls likely to set short-term direction

NZ dollar gains; US payrolls likely to set short-term direction
Jonathan Underhill
By Jonathan Underhill Sept. 2 (BusinessDesk) - The New Zealand dollar gained after weaker-than-expected US manufacturing data although US non-farm payrolls tonight is expected to set the kiwi's direction from here, at least in the short term. The kiwi rose to 72.88 US cents as at 5pm in Wellington from 72.51 cents late yesterday. The trade-weighted index gained to 77.63 from 77.43. Market consensus is that the US economy added 180,000 jobs last month, down from 255,000 in July but still a sign of a relatively robust labour market, a ke...