Wellington, Aug 15 NZPA - The New Zealand dollar fell below the US70c level again today and the big picture of a currency in decline remains unaltered.

By 5pm the kiwi was buying US69.75c, down from US69.95c at the same time yesterday, having been up to near US70.60c during the night.

The kiwi dropped below US70c for the first time in 11 months late last week and briefly got down to around US68.25c on Wednesday afternoon.

Retail sales data today confirmed economists' belief that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will continue to cut interest rates.

Bank of New Zealand currency specialist Danica Hampton said that overall, the bigger picture still showed that a combination of a firmer US dollar and concerns about the slowing New Zealand economy should ensure bounces in the kiwi against the greenback were limited.

But, given the speed and size of the recent decline, the NZ dollar was looking overdue for a bit of consolidation against the US currency, she said.

Against the Australian dollar, the kiwi was at A80.69c from A80.40c yesterday.

The NZ dollar gained against the euro to 0.4722 from 0.4698, while against the yen was 76.86 from 76.60 yesterday.

The trade weighted index was 65.05 from 64.97.

The US dollar has rallied against the euro amid growing concern over euro zone economic weakness and accelerating inflation in the United States.

NZPA WGT Reuters pjg gt