The New Zealand dollar rebounded slightly yesterday while the United States was on holiday for Thanksgiving.
By 5pm the kiwi was at US49.62c, up from Thursday's close of US49.38c, while the aussie rose to US56.14c (US55.77c).
Deutsche Bank Auckland-based head of global markets Sean Brown said the day had been uneventful for the kiwi, although the currency made up some of the ground lost during the week.
The kiwi has slipped from US50.34c last Friday on reasonably heavy profit-taking several times this week, mostly from offshore investors who had bought the New Zealand and Australian dollars to benefit from the higher antipodean interest rates, Mr Brown said.
"We tested a low of US49c this week. That dried up a little bit towards the end of the week, and both kiwi and aussie have gravitated a bit higher as a result."
The kiwi traded in a range of US49.54/68c yesterday, and was likely to be capped by US49.80c overnight before possibly heading higher next week.
"I think it will be quiet overnight because you get the hangover from the (US) Thanksgiving holiday," Mr Brown said. "I think we might chase (US50c) next week."
The kiwi currently looked comfortable closer to A88c than A89c against the Australian dollar, he said.
"It looks a little high to be honest, but I can't see what's going to drag it down in the short term."
Before the US market closed for yesterday's Thanksgiving Day, the greenback rallied on a flurry of positive economic reports, but news of a car bomb attack on a Kenyan hotel used by Israelis knocked the US dollar back across the board.
The euro rose to US99.37c at 5pm in Wellington, from US99.06c on Thursday, while the US dollar was little changed at 122.31 yen (122.35 yen Thursday).
Against its major trading partners at 5pm, the kiwi was buying A88.43c (A88.55c on Thursday), 0.4993 euro (0.4984), 60.69 yen (60.42), 31.99 pence (32.06), and 0.7368 Swiss francs (0.7351).
The Australian dollar rose to $NZ1.1307 ($NZ1.1283).
The trade weighted index was at 56.61 (56.45), the monetary conditions index tightened to minus 150 (minus 164), and the 90-day bank bill yield was 5.93 per cent (5.95).
On the bond market, the April 2004s were at 5.73 per cent (5.74), the November 2006s were at 6.01 per cent (6.03), the November 2011s were at 6.38 per cent (6.39), and the April 2013s were at 6.43 per cent (6.44).
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> Kiwi floats upwards in uneventful session
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