Kiwi drifts down

The New Zealand dollar drifted downward after data showed China’s trade surplus with the US widened to its highest level in more than a decade, news likely to exacerbate tensions between the two nations. The kiwi fell to 68.07 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 68.20 at 8.30am. The trade-weighted index eased to 73.54 points from 73.70. China’s trade surplus with the US grew 17 per cent in 2018, with exports to the US rising 11.3 per cent in the year while imports rose just 0.7 per cent.