The New Zealand dollar gained from further United States dollar losses yesterday, rising above 52USc for the first time in nearly three years.
By 5pm the kiwi was at 52.15USc against its Friday close of 51.85USc.
The kiwi last breached 52USc in January 2000.
Against the Australian dollar, the kiwi bobbed up to a seven-year high of 92.62Ac from Friday's close of 91.93Ac.
The kiwi is at its highest against its Australian counterpart since 1995, when it rose above 95Ac.
"As you'd expect, being the middle of the holiday season it's been quite quiet," Bank of New Zealand chief currency dealer Mike Symonds said.
"The kiwi's traded in a relatively tight range, but saying that it still retains an overall firm bias against the United States and Australian dollars.
"The fact that the US dollar remains under pressure, and in our view is likely to remain under pressure as we head into the New Year, will again probably underpin the kiwi.
"Until we get some fundamental change of the picture for both interest rates in New Zealand and relative economic growth, then the kiwi's going to remain well supported on any dips."
The kiwi traded between 51.89/52.15USc yesterday, with a range expected overnight of 51.85/52.25USc.
In overseas trade the US dollar fell to its lowest level against the euro since November 1999 and slid against most other major currencies on heightened worries about North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
However, yesterday the US said it was ready to wait months to see if diplomacy can persuade Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear programmes.
North Korea's actions compounded other factors working against the greenback, including continued talk about a US-led war on Iraq, the weak US stock market and poor Christmas retail sales.
On the crosses, the kiwi was buying 0.4990 euro (€0.4994 at Friday's close), 62.45 yen (62.28), and 32.45 pence (32.36p).
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> Flying kiwi dollar soars past 52USc
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