The New Zealand dollar plunged to new multi-month lows against its major rivals on Friday morning in Asia as stocks declined amid increasing fears about the global financial stability after Dubai's state-owned firms shocked the markets with a debt default request.
Markets across the globe were perturbed by the news on Thursday after news that Dubai's main development engine, Dubai World, would ask creditors for a standstill on paying back its $60 billion debt until at least May.
Market concerns further intensified after the credit rating agency Standard & Poor's put the credit ratings of four Dubai banks on negative outlook because of their exposure to the debt-laden Dubai World.
The New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index is currently down 38.80 points or 1.24% at 3,088.51.
In economic news, the New Zealand government report released today showed that New Zealand's trade deficit continued to shrink in October.
New Zealand's trade deficit stood at NZ$487 million in October compared to the NZ$563 million deficit in the previous month, Statistics New Zealand reported on Friday. The trade deficit was roughly in line with expectations for a NZ$480 million deficit. Exports dropped 22.4% annually to NZ$3 billion in October, while imports plummeted 28.3% to NZ$3.5 billion.
The NZ dollar plunged to 2.1246 against the euro by 6:40 pm ET, the lowest level since September 2 and the next downside target for the domestic currency is seen around the 2.175 level. The euro-kiwi pair that closed yesterday's deals at 2.1023 is presently worth 2.1046.
Today's European session is likely to be influenced by the French and euro-zone consumer confidence reports-both for the month of November.
Against the US dollar, the New Zealand dollar slumped to more than a 1-1/2 month low of 0.7049 at this time and this may be compared to yesterday's close of 0.7152, The kiwi-buck pair is presently worth 0.7112 with 0.697 seen as the next downside target level.
The New Zealand dollar slumped to a new 4-month low of 59.96 against the Japanese yen around 6:40 pm ET and the next downside target for the pair is seen near the 59.0 level. The kiwi-buck pair that closed yesterday's deals at 61.94 is presently quoted at 61.28.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said in its preliminary report that Japan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 5.1 percent, down from 5.3 percent the previous month. The number of unemployed rose 890,000 from a year earlier to 3.44 million.
In a separate report, the Ministry said Japan's key consumer price index continued to drop in October for an eighth month in a row to 2.2 percent from a year earlier. This was in line with market expectations.
The core CPI for Tokyo, a leading indicator of prices across Japan, fell 1.9 percent in November from a year before to 99.5, the ministry said. Analysts had estimated a 2.0 percent decrease.
Japan's retail sales fell 0.9% in October from a year earlier, the government said today, narrower than the market expectations of a 1.1% decline. Sales at large-scale retailers fell 7.2% on year after a 5.6% drop in the previous month.
The New Zealand currency slumped to its lowest level in more than 5-1/2 months against the Australian dollar in early Asian trading today. The kiwi declined to 1.2806 against the aussie before snapping back around 6:40 pm ET. The aussie-kiwi pair, which closed yesterday's deals at 1.2792, is presently quoted at 1.2746.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.