The New Zealand dollar gained over half a cent as the US dollar came under pressure on all fronts today.
The kiwi closed today at US64.24c, having risen overnight to over US64c from its US63.63c close yesterday.
The rise came as the US dollar tumbled, with its biggest fall against the euro in six weeks, after US consumer confidence hit a three-month low in May. The greenback is widely expected to keep falling in coming months.
The dollar failed to sustain a brief rise after US President George W. Bush nominated Goldman Sachs chairman Henry Paulson for Treasury secretary.
Traders said the dollar remained vulnerable to the perception -- sparked after the Group of Seven finance ministers met last month -- that G7 countries want to see the dollar gradually fall to reduce the huge US current account deficit.
ANZ Investment Bank said the greenback's weakness was the dominant influence on the market for now.
Plenty of data would be coming out of the US this week and would need to be "extremely spectacular" to prevent the kiwi climbing further.
The kiwi gained ground to the aussie despite strong April Australian retail sales released yesterday and after quite weak local building data today.
The cross rate ended on A84.13c against yesterday's A83.62c finish, while the aussie dollar ended at US76.36c from US76.08c.
The New Zealand dollar trade-weighted ended on 63.63 from 63.19.
Rates:
5pm today 5pm Tuesday
NZ dlr US64.24c US63.63c
NZ dlr/Aust dlr A84.13c A83.62c
NZ dlr/euro 0.4986 0.4968
NZ dlr/yen 72.02 71.33
NZ dlr/stg 34.08 34.08
NZ TWI 63.63 63.19
Australian dollar US76.36c US76.08c
Euro/US dollar US1.2875 US1.2808
US dollar/yen 112.13 112.09
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> Kiwi makes gains on US and Australian dollars
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.