The New Zealand dollar skidded to 11-month lows on Thursday after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) wrong-footed Kiwi bulls by keeping a neutral bias at its policy review where it held interest rates steady at a record low 1.75 percent. The New Zealand dollar dropped 1.5 percent to $0.6830, having gone as far as $0.6818, the lowest since June last year. A break under $0.6810 would target a retracement to the one-year trough of $0.6676. The pound climbed to its highest in nine months at NZ$1.8930 to show a gain of 6.7 percent so far this year.

The Kiwi also took a spill against the euro, yen, and its Aussie cousin which powered up 1.5 percent to NZ$1.0767. "The monetary policy statement was conspicuously missing any shift in stance, despite the weakening in the NZD and recent upside inflation surprises," said Rahul Bahoria, an economist at Barclays.

With so much action on the Kiwi, the Australian dollar took the backseat, following a volatile week. It was a touch higher at $0.7363, having touched a four-month low of $0.7329 on Tuesday following disappointing domestic economic data. It has shed 0.7 percent so far this week and if sustained it would be the fourth week of losses. Australian government bond futures were mixed, with the three-year bond contract up 1 tick at 98.120. The 10-year contract edged half a tick lower to 97.3050, while the 20-year contract eased 1.5 basis point to 96.7200. Markets had expected a slightly more hawkish tone following solid domestic data and signs that inflation was picking up.

Copyright Reuters, 2017