The New Zealand dollar held its ground today while its stablemates, the euro and Australian dollar were sold.
The kiwi closed at US72.45 from US72.57c at 5pm yesterday.
The Australian dollar came under pressure after Australia's current account deficit came out worse than expected. The kiwi rose to A92.08 from A91.79c at 5pm yesterday.
The record deficit saw the aussie sold half a cent to US78.70c against its US79.22c opening.
A Sydney-based dealer said the kiwi had had a healthy pullback from its US72.76c high today and looked in good shape.
BNZ currency strategist Sue Trinh said the Reserve Bank of Australia was widely expected to raise rates by 25 basis points and that should support that currency.
The greenback closed at 104.63 yen from 104.74 yesterday while the euro was at US$1.3194 against its US$1.3272 close yesterday.
On its other major crosses, the kiwi was buying 0.5493 euros (0.5468 euros), 37.75 British pence (37.74), 75.80 yen (76.00) and 0.8452 Swiss francs (0.8417).
This week will see the kiwi reach a 20-year milestone. The kiwi floated on March 4, 1985, at US44.4c. Early last week it hit a post-float high of US73.05c.
The Reserve Bank said it was the 11th most traded currency in the world with daily turnover of $7.5 billion.
Meanwhile, the Trade Weighted Index (TWI) closed at 70.04 (69.99) and the monetary conditions index was at plus 1008 (1002).
On the money markets, 90-day bank bill yields finished at 6.86 per cent (6.85), July 2009 bonds rose to 6.24 per cent (6.20) and April 2015s were at 6.12 per cent (6.07).
- NZPA
<EM>Currency:</EM> Kiwi dollar holds ground
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