The New Zealand dollar closed on its high for the day today after another dull session of thin trading in a narrow range.
It finished at US42.02c, up from US41.75c at yesterday's close and at the top of its US41.94-42.02c range.
The Australian dollar initially rose but finished unchanged from yesterday's close of US51.65c.
A Westpac dealer said the kiwi was well underpinned while the Australian dollar seemed quite weak.
Summer holidays in Europe and the US had thinned the market.
The main event on the horizon is the Reserve Bank of Australia's review of interest rates tomorrow. The market is expecting no change and a decision to cut rates again would initially see the aussie sold lower. But a change of any sort would be a surprise.
On the Australian cross, the kiwi climbed to A81.33c from yesterday's A80.85c. The Australian dollar was at $NZ1.229 from yesterday's close of $NZ1.1356.
On the other crosses the kiwi finished at 52.01 yen (51.85 at yesterday's close), 29.62 pence (29.27), 0.9333 marks (0.9275), 0.7195 Swiss francs (0.7142) and 0.4775 euros (0.4744).
The trade-weighted index was at 50.37 (50.11), and with the 90-day bills at 5.80 percent (5.80) the monetary conditions index tightened to minus 747 (minus 773).
Bond yields were little changed. The March 2002s were at 5.68 percent (5.67 percent), the April 2004s eased to 6.22 percent (6.25 percent), the November 2006s fell to 6.42 percent (6.47), and the November 2011s were dropped to 6.62 percent (6.64).
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> Kiwi finishes session on high
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