The New Zealand dollar dropped below US63c briefly today and at 5pm was just slightly above that level, 1c lower than it was 24 hours earlier.
The kiwi hit US62.98c its lowest level against the greenback in nearly a fortnight, then moved back up slightly to US63.09c this evening, compared to US64.23c 24 hours earlier.
It reached a four-year low against the Australian currency and a 20-month low against the yen.
The New Zealand currency went as low as A81.99c and at 5pm was up slightly at A82.11c, from A83.24c a day earlier.
Rob Gwyther of Macquarie Equities said that today's level of the kiwi against the Australian dollar was starting to look healthy for exporters to Australia.
The Bank of New Zealand said the kiwi was hammered by selling against the yen and the Australian dollar overnight, with the losses initially led by the strength of the yen.
The soft New Zealand dollar remained consistent with forecasts of soft NZ growth, deteriorating terms of trade and a burgeoning current account deficit, BNZ said.
Investors ignored yesterday's wage data showing the still-tight labour market will likely keep the Reserve Bank on inflation-watch for the rest of the year, choosing instead to look ahead to Thursday's household labour force survey -- expected to reveal an uptick in unemployment.
While market forecasts are for a modest rise in March quarter unemployment to 3.7 per cent from 3.6 per cent in December, ANZ Investment Bank said there was an increasing expectation the number will be higher.
The market was waiting for the release of the Australian budget tonight and looking to compare it to the New Zealand budget on May 18.
The US dollar stabilised ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday after previously slipping to one-year lows against the euro and sterling.
The TWI at 62.70 this evening was a point lower than at 5pm yesterday.
The following are Reuters currency rates:
5pm today 5pm Monday
NZ dlr US63.09c US64.23c
NZ dlr/Aust dlr A82.11c A83.24c
NZ dlr/euro 0.4972 0.5044
NZ dlr/yen 70.43 71.70
NZ dlr/stg 33.98 34.50
NZ TWI 62.70 63.70
Australian dollar US76.85 US77.15c
Euro/US dollar US1.2695 US1.2731
US dollar/yen 111.62 111.62
- NZPA
<EM>Currency:</EM> Kiwi steady against greenback
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