NZD/USD price today

The New Zealand dollar to US dollar price (NZD/USD) shows how many US dollars one New Zealand dollar is worth. New Zealand is a small, remote economy, but its currency holds a steady place among the major forex pairs thanks to its dairy exports, interest rates that are usually higher than those of large economies, and its sensitivity to risk sentiment. On this page you can see the live NZD/USD rate, its candlestick chart and technical events, and below you will learn about the main drivers of the "Kiwi", how it differs from the Australian dollar, trading hours in Tehran time and risk tips.

What is the NZD/USD pair and why is it called the "Kiwi"?

In NZD/USD, the New Zealand dollar is the base currency and the US dollar is the quote currency; a rate of 0.6000 means one New Zealand dollar is worth 0.6 US dollars. A rising rate means the Kiwi has strengthened, and a falling rate means the US dollar has strengthened.

The nickname "Kiwi" comes from New Zealand's national bird, which appears on the country's one-dollar coin; New Zealanders themselves are also colloquially called "Kiwis". The New Zealand dollar was floated in 1985, and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) was the first central bank in the world to write "formal inflation targeting" into its law, an approach that many central banks around the world later adopted.

The New Zealand dollar has no common, actively traded rate in Iran's currency market; Iranian traders usually follow it only through forex currency pairs.

Factors affecting the New Zealand dollar price

1. Dairy and agricultural products

New Zealand is one of the world's largest dairy exporters, and milk powder, butter and cheese make up a large share of its exports. The Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auctions, usually held twice a month, provide a gauge of global dairy prices, and their results sometimes move the Kiwi. Meat, timber and tourism are also important sources of foreign currency income for New Zealand.

2. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the interest rate differential

Historically, the RBNZ has often had higher interest rates than the US, Europe and Japan, which has made the Kiwi one of the traditional destinations for the carry trade ; that is, traders sell a low-yielding currency such as the yen and hold the New Zealand dollar to earn the interest rate gain. Any change in this gap, whether from the RBNZ or the Federal Reserve, has a direct effect on NZD/USD. Compare current rates in global interest rates , and calculate the overnight holding gain or cost with the swap calculator .

3. Economic data

Many of New Zealand's key data releases, including inflation, employment and GDP, are published quarterly, so there are fewer of them but their impact is greater. Data from China and Australia, as main trading partners, also affect the Kiwi. Check release times in the Teagle economic calendar .

4. Risk sentiment

Like the Australian dollar, the Kiwi is a risk-on currency; during crises and flights to safe-haven assets, it is usually among the currencies that fall the most.

Kiwi vs. Aussie

NZD/USD and AUD/USD usually move in the same direction, but they have differences worth knowing:

Differences in the two central banks' monetary policies or diverging dairy and metal prices sometimes pull the two apart; traders follow this gap in the AUD/NZD pair.

Best time to trade NZD/USD

Wellington is the first major financial center to open each week; that is why the forex market effectively starts with the New Zealand and Sydney sessions, and a price gap may appear early Monday morning Tehran time after weekend news. New Zealand data and central bank decisions are also usually announced between midnight and early morning Tehran time. Even so, as with other dollar pairs, most NZD/USD volume occurs during the London–New York overlap. See exact session times in world market hours .

Pip value in NZD/USD

In NZD/USD one pip is 0.0001, and because the quote currency is the US dollar, its value is fixed: 10 dollars for one standard lot (100,000 New Zealand dollars), 1 dollar for 0.1 lot and 0.1 dollar for 0.01 lot. Because the Kiwi's spread is usually higher than that of higher-volume pairs, in short-term trades the spread takes a larger share of potential profit. Calculate the right position size with the trading calculator .

NZD/USD in technical analysis

Because of its lower trading volume, the Kiwi sometimes shows sharper moves and more false breakouts than high-volume pairs; that is why many traders also check the Australian dollar chart for confirmation before deciding. If a breakout occurs in NZD/USD but AUD/USD does not follow, a reversal is more likely. The Kiwi's long-term trends also usually coincide with interest rate and commodity price cycles and are best seen on daily and weekly timeframes.

See a summary of indicator signals in the "Technical events" section of this page, and for a closer look, open the candlestick chart at the top of the page on different timeframes.

NZD/USD correlation with other symbols

• Australian dollar: the Kiwi's strongest positive correlation.
• Kiwi crosses: Euro to New Zealand dollar and Pound to New Zealand dollar move opposite to the Kiwi's strength and are useful for gauging NZD's own strength without the US dollar's influence.
• Stocks and commodities: usually move in the same direction in a risk-on environment.

Risk management tips for trading the Kiwi

• Lower liquidity: during quiet hours, the Kiwi's spread can widen noticeably; limit short-term trades to high-volume hours.
• Carry trade risk: an attractive swap gain can be wiped out by a sharp price drop on a single crisis day.
• Early-morning announcements: RBNZ interest rate decisions are announced when most Iranian traders are asleep; protect open positions with a stop loss.
• Reputable broker: the actual Kiwi spread varies widely between brokers; compare them in forex broker reviews .

See other currency pairs in the list of forex market symbols . The information on this page is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell; the rate shown comes from market data sources and may differ slightly from your broker's price. Trading with leverage carries high risk, and you may lose part or all of your capital.