The New Zealand dollar retreated from the multi-year highs it hit yesterday, as the United States dollar flexed its muscles.
At 5pm, the kiwi was buying US70.28c compared with its US70.80c close yesterday, having today ranged between US70.20c and US70.59c.
The kiwi traded as high as US71.02c yesterday, its highest level since November 1996 and not far off its all-time high of US72.75c in June 1988.
The US dollar turned higher in New York, rallying from all-time lows against the euro when traders took profits in the euro zone currency ahead of a G20 finance ministers' meeting in Berlin this weekend.
BNZ currency strategist Sue Trinh said investors and traders were taking money off the table ahead of that event risk, where the outcome was a little bit unknown.
She expected the US dollar to soften after the G20 meeting, which was likely to be more focused on growth issues than the currency.
"If they don't really pay too much attention to currency then that would imply they don't really care too much about the US dollar's decline to date -- almost like a greenlight to sell US dollars," Ms Trinh told NZPA today.
Meanwhile, at 5pm today, the euro was trading at US$1.2965 in New Zealand (from $1.3037 at the same time yesterday).
Against the yen, the US dollar was buying 104.17 (103.95).
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar was buying US77.60c (US78.24c).
On the crosses, the kiwi was buying A90.57c (A90.51c), 0.5421 euro (0.5431) 37.96 British pence (38.07), 73.20 yen (73.61 yen) and 0.8223 Swiss francs (0.8235).
The trade-weighted index was at 68.52 (68.79) and the monetary conditions index was at plus 886 (906).
On the money market, 90-day bank bill yields were unchanged at 6.74 per cent, February 2006 bond yields were on 6.24 per cent (6.23), July 2009s were at 6.00 per cent (5.98) and April 2013s were static at 6.04 per cent.
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> Kiwi retreats from highs as the Greenback flexes its muscles
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