KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand dollar remained solidly supported today, although it retreated from its near-three-month high against the euro.
By 5pm, the kiwi was at US78.96c, up from US78.55c late yesterday afternoon but below its session high of US79.04c.
Against the Aussie, the kiwi was little changed at A88.10c.
The NZ dollar also recovered against other currencies, rising to 0.5448 euro from 0.5373 late yesterday, to 84.71 yen from 83.52, and 40.61 pence from 40.10p late yesterday.
The kiwi earlier hit 0.5460 euro, with the European currency dropping broadly after ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said euro zone growth risks were to the downside.
The kiwi has been supported by rate expectations for its central bank, and firmer US stock markets overnight, said Bank of New Zealand currency strategist Danica Hampton.
Yesterday's Household Labour Force Survey, which showed continued growth in employment and a new record low unemployment rate, was the latest in recent firmer data challenging views that the Reserve Bank does not need to consider rate cuts.
In contrast, currencies whose central banks were considering or had cut rates had underperformed in the last 24 hours, such as sterling, Ms Hampton said.
Money from Asia had also trickled in to the kiwi, thought to be related to uridashi issues - NZD-denominated bonds sold to Japanese investors.
The US dollar steadied after rising against the euro and the yen overnight, as most investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of a weekend meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrial powers in Tokyo.
The euro remained under pressure against the US dollar after the Trichet comments, and was on track for its biggest weekly decline against the greenback in one-and-a-half years.
- NZPA
