The New Zealand dollar dozed through the local trading session to end the day on a par with Friday's close.
"It is deathly quiet," one local dealer said.
"We have hardly traded all day."
At 5pm, the kiwi was at US40.42c from US40.46c late Friday, having fallen from highs around US40.75c earlier in the session.
Its Australian cousin was also on a road to nowhere today, ending at US49.19c (US49.14c at Friday's local close).
The focus in the currency markets this week will be interest rate announcements from at least five central banks, including the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
The RBNZ is widely expected to leave the Official Cash Rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent on Wednesday, while a few hours earlier the US Federal Reserve is forecast to cut rates by 50 basis points and the Reserve Bank of Australia should lop off 25 basis points on the same day.
The central banks in Canada and England also discuss rates this week.
But while the downside risk remains for the kiwi in the wake of last month's terrorist attacks in the US, the Bank of New Zealand today spoke positively about the kiwi's prospects in the longer term.
"When the markets return to a semblance of normality there are a number of positives working in favour of the NZ dollar," BNZ currency strategist Margaret Skilton said in a commentary.
"The quest for safe havens over the past few weeks has seen capital repatriated to countries like Switzerland and Japan despite low interest rate environments and unspectacular equity returns.
"Comparative interest rate returns in NZ (and Australia) are very attractive at the moment and economic data continues to surprise on the upside.
"In addition to this, the currency is near historic lows. So while we may encounter some further weakness short-term, the longer-term fundamentals see the prospects improve for the NZ dollar," Ms Skilton said.
Overnight, the kiwi looks set to remain locked in a tight range between US40.30c and US40.60c.
On the crosses at 5pm the kiwi was buying A82.17c (A82.33 at Friday's close), 48.40 yen (48.25), 27.47 pence (27.51), 0.8685 marks (0.8657), 0.6576 Swiss francs (0.6540) and 0.4441 euros (0.4426).
The trade-weighted index was at 48.07 (48.05), 90-day bill yields were at 5.29 per cent (5.28) and the monetary conditions index was at minus 1031 (minus 1033).
Among the bonds, the March 2002s were at 5.12 per cent (5.09), the April 2004s were at 5.48 per cent (5.44), the November 2006s were at 6.03 per cent (6.00), and the November 2011s were at 6.47 per cent (6.45).
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> Kiwi ends on par with Friday's close
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