2020.08.2407:37:00UTC+00NZ Dollar Drops After Auckland Lockdown Extension

The NZ dollar dropped against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Monday, after New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern extended the lockdown in the country's largest city amid rising Covid-19 cases.

The Auckland lockdown, which had been scheduled to end on Wednesday, was extended by four days.

Auckland will move down to alert level 2 from Monday.

The 10-year bond yield hit a record low following the announcement.

Data from Statistics New Zealand showed that New Zealand retail sales tumbled 15 percent on quarter in the second quarter of 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdown, marking the largest drop on record going back 25 years.

The total volume of retail sales dropped 14 percent on quarter.

The kiwi eased to 1.0982 versus the aussie, from a 4-day high of 1.0934 seen at the beginning of today's trading. The kiwi is seen finding support around the 1.12 level.

The kiwi pared gains to 1.8069 against the euro, from an early high of 1.8021. The kiwi is likely to challenge support around the 1.86 level.

The kiwi reached as low as 0.6525 against the greenback and held steady thereafter. Against the yen, the kiwi slipped to 69.04 at 5:00 pm ET and remained rangebound thereafter. The kiwi had ended Friday's trading at 0.6535 against the greenback and 69.17 against the yen.