The New Zealand dollar was sidelined by the America's Cup race on Auckland's Hauraki Gulf today, attracting very little interest from market players.
By 5pm the kiwi was at US55.09c, unchanged from yesterday's close but down slightly from its 9am level of US55.12c.
The aussie retreated slightly to US59.11c (US59.16c) after a short-lived rally yesterday when Standard & Poor's raised its foreign currency credit rating.
One local dealer said the kiwi traded in a very tight range between US54.90c and US55.15c today.
"It looks like everyone's just paying attention to the racing. It's been a US holiday on Monday, and in New Zealand everyone's been distracted with the racing today, so it's pretty hard to get any clues about the direction tonight," he said.
United States markets were thinned by the President's Day holiday.
In Japan the yen spiked higher against a swag of currencies today, helped by seasonal demand from Japanese investors bringing offshore money back home.
Some dealers said Japanese investors were selling US Treasuries and converting the proceeds into yen before the business year ends on March 31, a move seen every year as companies try to dress up their books.
By 5pm in Wellington the euro rose to $US1.0746 ($US1.0720 at last night's close), while the greenback lost ground to buy 119.35 yen (120.57) despite a bleak economic report from the Bank of Japan.
On the crosses at 5pm the kiwi was buying A93.20c (A93.10c at yesterday's close), 0.5126 euro (0.5139), 65.76 yen (66.42), 34.39 pence (34.31) and 0.7533 Swiss francs (0.7570).
The aussie was buying $NZ1.0730 ($NZ1.0741)
The trade-weighted index was at 60.82 (60.95), 90-day bills were at 5.83 per cent (5.85), and the monetary conditions index eased to plus 199 (plus 211).
On the bond market April 2004 government bonds were at 5.47 per cent (5.50), the November 2006s at 5.46 per cent (5.47), the November 2011s at 5.91 per cent (5.92), and the April 2013s at 5.94 per cent (5.95).
- NZPA
<i>Currency:</i> Kiwi sidelined as all eyes on black boat
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