New Zealand Economy Expands, NZD/USD Jumps to Record

The New Zealand dollar advanced against all 16 most-traded currencies, touching the all-time high versus the US dollar and reaching the highest level since 2005 against the euro, as growth of the New Zealand economy beat estimates.

The New Zealand gross domestic product rose 0.8 percent in the first quarter of 2011, following the growth by 0.5 percent (revised from 0.2 percent) in the previous quarter. The median forecast was 0.3 percent. The House Price Index of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand rose 1.3 percent in June after it fell 1.8 percent in May.

NZD/USD jumped from 0.8372 to 0.8460 as of 9:23 GMT today and reached earlier the record high of 0.8504. EUR/NZD dropped from 1.9631 to 1.6831, following the fall to 16732.

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