New Zealand Dollar Concerns

July 13, 2007 - Worries over the effect of the high New Zealand (NZ) dollar, which closed on Thursday at 78.22 U.S. cents, are growing within the country?s wool industry. At the same time last year, the NZ dollar sat around 60.5 U.S. cents.

?While most wool exporters in New Zealand are very good at managing their currencies and so keep their losses to a minimum, the level of the Kiwi dollar is now getting to the stage where their ability to trade is become difficult,? said Nick Nicholson, executive manager of the New Zealand Council of Wool Exporters (NZCWE).

?This dramatic movement in the currency means that returns to growers and exporters are considerably down and the outlook for meat and wool farmers is worrying.?

Peter Crone, managing director of John Marshall and Co. Ltd and former president of the NZCWE added, ?New Zealand wool is getting too expensive for everybody in U.S. dollar terms, while in New Zealand dollar terms it is at a very low point.?
Reprinted in part from the Wool Record Weekly Market Report

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