The New Zealand dollar had a sluggish day, as growing confidence in the greenback pinned back other currencies.
"The US has seen a rise in retail sales, and there's good news coming out of Afghanistan, so things are relatively bullish in the US," said one dealer.
Lack of interest saw the kiwi close at US41.86c, easing from its US42.07c opening and yesterday's close of US42.18c.
The kiwi felt the influence of a heavy aussie-greenback cross, which closed at US51.84c compared with its close yesterday at US52.10c. It also came under pressure from the aussie-kiwi cross, travelling all day under the A81c level to close at A80.77c (A80.94c at yesterday's close).
During the day the kiwi traded between US41.86 and US42.06c. Dealers predicted an overnight range of US41.65 to US42.00.
On the crosses at 5pm the kiwi traded at 0.4741 euros (0.4785), 51.05 yen (51.17), 29.03 pence (29.24), 0.9271 marks (0.9358), and 0.6961 Swiss francs (0.7038). The Australian dollar was buying $NZ1.2382 from $NZ1.2370 yesterday.
The trade-weighted index was at 49.88 (50.21), the 90-day bank bills -- from which floating mortgage rates are funded -- were at 4.86 per cent (4.85), and the monetary conditions index eased to minus 889 (minus 858).
On the debt market, the March 2002 bonds were at 4.76 per cent (4.74), the April 2004s were steady at 5.21 per cent (5.06), the November 2006s were at 5.75 per cent (5.60), and the November 2011s were at 6.21 per cent (6.11).
- NZPA
<i>Currency: </i>Kiwi pinned back by heavy aussie, buoyant greenback
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