The New Zealand dollar slipped to $0.558 on Friday after closing 0.5% lower in the previous session, as investors turned cautious ahead of Saturday’s general election. Polls indicate a tight race between the governing centre-right National Party and the opposition centre-left Labour Party, with neither holding a clear path to forming a government. That has heightened concerns about potentially drawn-out coalition talks and uncertainty over the next administration’s economic and fiscal agenda.
With no major party presenting concrete plans to arrest the currency’s slide, traders expect the kiwi to stay under pressure. The currency has dropped nearly 3% so far this year, ranking among the worst performers in the G10 amid sluggish economic growth and a soft labour market. At the same time, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s unexpected split decision to keep the official cash rate unchanged last week has further muddied the policy outlook and compounded downward pressure on the kiwi.
