The New Zealand dollar held onto its overnight gains but failed to make any headway during today's session.
By 5pm the kiwi was at US55.39c, up on last night's local close of US55.07c and near its offshore high of US55.42c.
The aussie dollar was also firmer, closing in Wellington at US59.50c (US59.06c).
One local dealer said the kiwi had traded in a tight 10-point range during today's lacklustre session.
"The (kiwi's) really just consolidating after last night's gains. I think you're going to see more selling interest around this US55.50/60c area again," he said.
"We have seen the euro firm up a bit so the US dollar is a touch weaker, but really it's just a resurgence in the aussie off good technical support levels... it's moving towards the top of its range without going anywhere too fast.
"I think tonight we're going to see something along the lines of US55.30/60c."
In Asia the US dollar tottered near a three-week low against the yen on the re-emergence of risks of war in Iraq.
Investors have sold the greenback on concerns that the US could launch a unilateral military offensive against Iraq without the sanction of the United Nations.
At 5pm in Wellington, the euro was trading at $US1.0766 ($US1.0713) and the greenback weakened further to 110.03 yen (119.06 yen).
On the crosses, the kiwi slipped to A93.10c (A93.24c at yesterday's close), but strengthened to 0.5145 euro (0.5140), 65.94 yen (65.57), 34.64 pence (34.57) and 0.7563 Swiss francs (0.7562).
The aussie gained against the New Zealand dollar to $NZ1.0740 ($NZ1.0725)
The trade-weighted index was at 61.03 (60.84), 90-day bills were at 5.84 per cent (5.83), and the monetary conditions index rose to plus 217 (plus 201).
On the bond market, April 2004 government bonds were at 5.46 per cent (5.47), the November 2006s were at 5.44 per cent (5.47), and the November 2011s were at 5.86 per cent (5.89) per cent.
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> Kiwi little moved from offshore highs
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