KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand dollar broke back above US71c for the first time in 10 days overnight but was flagging by the time the local market opened.
Around 8am the kiwi was buying US70.95c, having climbed towards US71.60c earlier today as it and the Australian dollar were boosted by a rise in commodity prices.
The kiwi also reached a 2-1/2-month high against the aussie, near A81.95c then eased to be buying A81.80c by the local open, from A81.19c at 5pm yesterday.
At the same time, the US dollar eased off a seven-month peak against the yen, halting an 11-day advance against a basket of currencies, as falling stocks and rebounding gold saw investors skim profits off a recent rally.
Analysts said the greenback's move, which also saw it retreat from a six-month high against the euro, was only temporary and expected market participants to use the pullback as a buying opportunity.
The ANZ said the weaker US dollar had seen the kiwi and aussie "grind" higher.
The moves in the antipodean currencies were largely in tandem, with the NZ dollar staying within a tight A81.70c to A81.80c range for most of the overnight trading session, ANZ said.
Sellers of the NZ dollar above US71.50c had ensured a solid cap in the NZ dollar against the greenback and were likely to prevail again should it touch that level today.
Against the euro, the kiwi climbed to a month high 0.4865 early today, then slipped to 0.4827 by 8am.
The NZ dollar also reached a near-fortnight high against the yen at 78.95, dropping to 78.06 by the local open. The trade weighted index was 66.18 at 8am from 65.98 at 5pm yesterday.
- NZPA
